Caught in the fading lights
by Complicated-little-Jellie
Summary: Alex and K-Unit are captured in the Welsh mountains by none other than Scorpia, but when an old face of a once-friend-now-enemy appears they're thrown into an emotional turmoil. Is this just the beginning; a part of a bigger, more dangerous plan? And what will it cost to make it through this?
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: Okay. Hi people. This story was on temporary hiatus, and now I've taken to rewriting this. The first few chapters or so are just rewrites of what was previously posted, and from then on the story will continue! There are slight plot changes and a development in my writing, but at this point I doubt that the tweaks will affect the readers understanding of the story. I hope you enjoy, and please review or PM me if you have any comments/problems with the story_**

**_Special thanks to my beta, the amazing Fate's Silver Chain. Check out their stories, seriously!_**

**_Jellie._**

* * *

><p>As the burnt orange sun shone on the Welsh mountains, a silver Jeep sped through the winding roads, shadows tangling in those of the trees as the sun descended to match their level. Inside the fast moving vehicle sat 4 muscled, battle worn men- soldiers of the SAS to be exact.<p>

This Unit consisted of Wolf, Snake, Eagle and Fox, all between the ages of 25 – 30. The Unit also included a minor, though fully operational and trained, 15 year old boy; know by the names of Alex Rider and Cub.

This complicated Unit were driven by their Unit leader Wolf as they left what some referred to as hell, what was officially referred to as an SAS training camp Brecon Beacons. The 5 had just been through a month's refresher training, finalising their course with a 5 day survival hike through the mountains.

To say they were tired would be a slight understatement, however well they hid it.

Whilst Wolf drove in his subdued world, Snake sat in the passenger seat, eyes closed and enjoying the heat from the boiling sun through a closed window, as no one had a temper short enough for the loud noise of the road at the current time. Being the medic, he had a longer temper span than most, but after sharing close corners with his Unit, and admittedly best friends, he was at his wits end. Especially with Eagle.

Eagle was what most could refer to as the moral of the team, if Cub didn't count during his rare spouts of childishness. Said man sat to the right of Cub, in the middle of a thumb war with the other closest man to being a child: Fox. As Cub sat in the middle, they were leaning over the poor young teen.

It didn't make Alex uncomfortable anymore, being close to K-Unit, but that didn't mean he particularly liked it. Sometimes people had called him a mastermind; maybe he was, and after all, the plans of revenge he had formed, shuffling through his mind, were certainly worthy of that. He had no doubt Eagle would look funny dressed as a giant lobster. The slightest of a smirk flittered across his face as he gazed aimlessly out of the window.

It was as he switched his mind back to watching the shadows that he saw it; a rough outline of a human shadow, in the edge of the trees, barely noticeable as it blended with the tall, casting shadows. It could just be a coincidence, to look the same as a human shadow. Alex never saw things the way normal people saw things. Where there was co-incidence, he saw conspiracy.

But there was no one there, at least, not visible to the naked eye.

"Wolf, slow down," he ordered, curiosity and suspicion ruling his decisions. His tone was hard, with an undercurrent of authority that Wolf did not dare ignore. The speed dipped from 60 mph to 20 mph in the seconds following.

Fox and Eagle immediately stopped their childish game and Snake opened his eyes, following Cub's sharp gaze out of the window, to the fringe of the tall oaks.

Senses on over-drive, he watched, frozen. Maybe it was just a hiker-

Again! He was sure he saw it again, only this time there was a flash, a glint of silver. Someone was watching them from the cover of the trees, more than one person, and they didn't want to be seen. If Alex hadn't had been who he was, he was certain that he would not have spotted the fast fading person. K-unit certainly didn't.

Beside him, Fox caught onto Alex's rigid form and darting, serious brown eyes. He recognized _this _Cub. This was the Cub he met in Australia. This was an aware, alert and above it all, more-so-than-normal serious Cub.

Eagle too watched out the window like a hawk, though in the corner of his mind his eyes followed Cub's hand as it absentmindedly slid down to his waist line, where he knew that the teenage spy kept his gun in its holster. It was then that he knew Alex was serious.

Twisting round, Snake communicated, confused but serious, with the teen. "What is it?" he asked sharply.

"There was someone in the forest watching us. More than one. They've been on our tail for a while."

His tone was cold and calculating, which startled the Unit members in the front slightly. They knew as they watched him that they had no idea of the severity of this. This was Cub's element.

They knew that. Because they knew that tone; that was what Eagle referred to as his 'spy tone'. The tone that screamed danger. They drew their guns, Alex following suit.

The spy was staring out the window, Gun ready, watching everywhere, listening in on everything, his senses were reeling. Then he opened the window. No one argued because Cub knew what he was doing. K-unit were almost scared of him. One minute he was a normal teenager acting like a child, and the next minute he was a ticking spy bomb, ready to explode into action.

"How many are there Cub?" Wolf asked, the tactical part of his mind taking over.

"I've seen 2 already. Undoubtedly there will be more, and a form of transport," Alex's reply was quite blunt, his answer automatic. The boy's skills amazed Snake, who hadn't even seen anyone yet. The skill's that the boy possessed fascinated Snake, who'd taken a GCSE course of psychology. That had certainly not covered teenage-spies-brains.

"Do you know who they are?" Eagle asked warily. He knew that Cub knew of all the known criminal organisations, how they operated, signs of who belonged to who, etc.

"No, I—"he took in a sharp breath, pausing in mid-sentence, which made the men jump, already on high alert.

"It's-"he stopped himself from speaking for moments, eyes darting at alarming speed from shadow to shadow. K-Unit had now seen glimpses of shadows, but Alex saw lots of operatives now.

"No! It can't be; they said they'd leave me alone for fucks sake!" Cub's almost complaining, emotional, tone alarmed them, because he sounded…scared. They had never heard Cub sound scared. Never. It just wasn't an emotion they had ever associated with the confident, skilled, wary child.

Fox laid a hand on Alex's shoulder, which made him jump and reel around at lightning speed, his hand on Fox's wrist, ready to break the bone. Immediately, his hand fell from his hold as he realised it was just Fox. Scorpia couldn't reach him in there.

His deep brown eyes were wide like a child's for once, and yes, certainly scared.

"Who is it Alex?" he asked softly.

"Scorpia Ben." They froze.

Wolf was a very protective, defensive man of his possessions, of his friends and family, and certainly of his Unit, Cub included. So when he spoke, though he was purely being protective, he sounded angry, furious even.

"Damn it Cub, why do Scorpia want you? What the fuck have you done to do with Scorpia?" Wolf shouted, unable to help himself.

"Classified Wolf, you know that as well as I do." Cub responded immediately, face void of emotion, his eyes in pain. He wanted to tell the men he now respected how he had done his part; protected the country as well as they had. Without that, he had always feared they would think of him as a weakling, as some big shot who didn't deserve to train with the SAS, like they did the last time he had visited.

Alex didn't know enough about relationships between comrades to know when friends got past that point. He hoped that they never thought of him that way again, because they _were _the closest thing he had right now. And probably ever.

All 4 had fully prepared arguments for Cub's response, but they never got a chance.

Suddenly, a sharp metallic ping cut through their thoughts, all, apart from Wolf, turning instinctively to the back of the vehicle, where the sound had come from. It had sounded like a-

"We're being chased and shot at!" Eagle exclaimed, Alex nodding gravely beside him. They had no chance to think before another bullet struck the metal body of the car, then another, shattering the back windscreen.

The three passengers of the back seat ducked down, whilst Snake and Wolf were protected with the back of their chairs. "Shit. Snake, call MI6, or SAS!" Alex shouted as he peaked over the top of his cover, before immediately ducking as a bullet sliced the air where his blonde head had been only moments before. The front windscreen was now shattered.

"Affirmative!" Snake shouted over the noise.

Eagle, Fox and Cub started shooting at the van that now gave chase to them, aiming for the driver and passenger, clad in black clothing and sunglasses. The screen of their van was tinted, and they seemed to just melt into the seats, making shooting them harder, but not impossible. A gun war was soon engaged, both shooting at the weakest defences; the windows, the passengers and the tires. Their Jeep was fine, it had specialist bullet proof mudguards, and it seemed the Scorpia van too had its own defences.

Wolf had his foot flat on the medal, going well over 150mph, which he knew was dangerous considering his back passengers were not wearing the seatbelts; it restricted movements, but it wasn't like they had much choice.

Snake radioed in, calling for not only back up, but help.

For some reason, the van pursuing them stopped, seemingly leaving them alone, which they were grateful for as they were running low on ammo. Never the less, the three kept their guns ready for the next attack, facing behind them, crouched on their knees.

It all happened very quickly then.

As Wolf sped round the next corner, there was another van, parked in the middle of the road, blocking it completely. A man leant cockily against the side of it, Scorpia logo above his heart and a gun in his hand. The leader of K-unit had no time to swerve, only hitting his foot on the break. As the car skidded, out of Wolf's control, the man with the van shot a single shot, only taking a second to aim and fire. A man trained in the art of shooting.

The car immediately swerved straight to the right as the front right tire blew itself out; the silver 4x4 sent straight down a small hill, colliding with a large oak tree.

Smoke billowed from the front of the car, from the engine. Slumped against the air bag, Wolf sat, unconscious, blood trickling slowly from his forehead where he had hit his head on the steering wheel; before the large air bag had exploded into life.

Dazed, Snake lay back in his seat, uncomfortable with the strong airbag and seatbelt holding him in place whilst silence rung through the valley. All he could hear was the ringing in his ears.

Both Eagle and Fox had too been lucky. The soldiers had been thrown forwards, colliding with the chairs, before being slung backwards, bouncing off the chairs. Though slightly winded, they fared better than Wolf, and Cub, not that they knew that at that point.

Easily the most vulnerable, and the youngest, Alex had been in the middle without a seatbelt. The force of the impact had thrown him through the centre, out of the window, sending him straight into the tree, effectively knocking him out, before his body had dropped to the bonnet, where he now lay.

30 seconds went by in their silence before Snake started to recover from the shock, instantly going into his role of medic, and second-in-command considering Wolf was currently out of action.

"Status report!" he shouted, slowly pulling out a penknife and slashing the airbag to release the pressure. He unclipped his belt as soon as he could breathe properly. Coughs were heard from the back seat.

"Eagle reporting. Hit my head and winded but otherwise unharmed."

"Fox reporting. Winded, bruised but okay."

"Snake reporting. Fucking headache, winded and maybe a bruised rib but okay."

Silence. That was it.

What about Cub? Quickly he stabbed at Wolf's airbag, deflating the white balloon, before checking Wolf's pulse- which was fast but loud; he was going to be okay. Of course he was going to be okay, Wolf was always okay. He was headstrong, silent and deadly, protective, defensive and loving. If Wolf wasn't okay and breathing, then there certainly was something wrong with their dark and troubling world. Wolf was a survivor, and if Wolf was okay, then Cub was okay. Right?

"Cub, where are you?"

The question they all held was voiced by Eagle, though the man may have a slight concussion for _actually _asking it. If Cub was ok, then he would have replied to Snake's call, or shouted for them. The spy would definitely have heard them moving.

Fox and Eagle smashed their windows with the bunt of their guns, placing their jackets over where the windows were, careful to not get any glass in their hands or any of their body as they slithered out, grateful for the fast fading light.

Whilst Fox smashed Snake's window, Eagle destroyed Wolf's. Though it was difficult, they worked together as a team, quickly and effectively as possible, to get their leader out of the car. The doors wouldn't open, as the smash had crumpled them. In only minutes, all 4 were out of the car; Wolf was lain on the ground in the recovery position, Fox on guard, whilst Snake and Eagle searched for their Cub.

Immediately, Snake ran to the point where Alex was most likely to be; the front of the car. Theoretically, like what had happened to all of them, the force would have thrown him forward, towards the hood of the jeep, where the smoke was.

Realisation hit him.

"Eagle! Quick come over here, I know where Cub is!" He shouted as he ran his hand through his curly black hair, as he always did when he was nervous, or put in a situation where someone's life would be at risk.

They ran over to the front, to stand beside the tree and observe the damage. Surely, Cub's body dangled at an odd angle, half against the tree, and half on the hood of the car. They crouched to avoid the smoke, which was becoming dangerously more prominent by the second.

"Eagle, we're gonna slide him off, then take him back to the clearing, got it?" Snake ordered, waiting only seconds for Eagle's nod before heading forwards, the other man on his heel.

Swiftly, they moved forward. Eagle gently grasped Cub's narrow shoulders and pulled him down, towards his position on the floor. Snake then took hold of his legs and together they carried him slowly back towards Fox and Wolf. Fox visibly sighed in relief as they laid the young, unconscious boy on the floor beside their still-unconscious leader.

The boy's hair was streaked red, highly visible in the blonde, as was his face evidently cut, the blood not looking good on his lightly tanned skin. The medic crouched beside him and felt for a pulse, very relieved when he felt the loud, fast beating on his fingers, before going on to check for injuries.

"His wrist is broken, but not badly, and he's got a few broken ribs. He'll have a concussion, and is more likely than not to suffer from minor blood loss," Snake stated, sinking to the floor beside his youngest patient.

Eagle and Fox stood, on guard and waiting for an attack- any sign of movement. Scorpia had known that they were coming, shot at them and made them crash their car. K-unit were very aware of their vulnerable position. They had their guns drawn, but only Snake had bullets left in his unused pistol.

A single shot echoed around the silent forest area, sending the SAS men to their feet, guns drawn, regardless of ammo or not. Around them, 30 figures came from every angle, guns drawn, encircling the unit. Not only were they badly outnumbered, but they had no ammo and 2 members to protect.

They were trapped. And the worst thing was that each figure had a silver scorpion on their chest, glittering in the fading light.

Scorpia were out for revenge.

And they were going to get it.


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Miss me? I hope chapter one didn't bore anyone too much? Haha well here's Chapter two :D _**

**_And Obviously, special thanks to my Beta - Fate's Silver Chain_**

**_Last time in Caught in the Fading Lights…_**

_A single shot echoed around the silent forest area, sending the SAS men to their feet, guns drawn, regardless of ammo or not. Around them, 30 figures came from every angle, guns drawn, encircling the unit. Not only were they badly outnumbered, but they had no ammo and 2 members to protect._

_They were trapped. And the worst thing was that each figure had a silver scorpion on their chest, glittering in the fading light._

_Scorpia were out for revenge._

_And they were going to get it._

To say the fight against Scorpia was dignifying, that it displayed the best of the SAS performance, would be a lie. Outnumbered 10-3 with 2 already-very-unconscious teammates made their chances of escape, well, impossible.

Maybe if the operatives attacking them weren't Scorpia and if they didn't hold so much grudge and hate for Alex Rider, who had ruined their company, and reputation, for destroying their careers, maybe their partners; the grudges went deep. For hateful, cold people such as those of Scorpia, once a grudge was founded, they held onto that grudge, used it to drive their anger to destroying It's source.

Also known as Alex Rider.

Eagle, Fox and Snake all took up defensive positions, firing. The men before them dive out of the way almost gracefully, before going into the offence and shooting down the soldiers. Within seconds, they all found themselves on the floor.

Snake tried to control his breathing, remembering the talk on being shot; if you breathe faster, your heart pumps faster and therefore you lose blood quicker. He felt a searing pain in his chest, but there was no blood. Muffled shouting rang in his ears as the edges of his eyesight dimmed, mind starting to go blank. He'd been _tranquilized. _They wanted them alive.

The Scorpia agents moved in quickly once the soldiers fell down, losing consciousness. 2 agents swiftly shot Wolf and Alex, just in case, before 5 operatives tied their hands and legs, slinging them over their back with ease, despite the soldiers being all near 6 feet tall and definitely not light in weight.

This was all done in silence, before they traipsed up the slope, dumping the bodies in the large white van, still parked across the middle of the road. Several other vehicles waited, out of sight to which the men dispersed towards.

2 operatives stayed behind, surveying the wreckage. The front of the car pumped thick, black smoke; flames licked the edge.

In the centre of the jeep, a radio suddenly cackled to life, causing the immediate attention of the assassins. Swiftly, they moved to the source of what sounded like a radio, just in time to hear what it said.

_"…K-unit. Snake. Do you copy? Help is on the way. I repeat; help is on the way."_

The two men smiled behind their masks, smiles of satisfaction, greed and hatred. By the time the stupid SAS arrived on the scene, there would be nothing left than a fire to put out, and the disappearance of their petty Unit to mourn.

Scorpia's footmen walked away, melting with the last of the shadows as the sun faded from the sky.

Groggily, Eagle sat up, mind on the verge of complete incomprehension. He shook it head and wiped his eyes tiredly, before surveying the room. It wassmall, roughly 4x5m, with black brick walls surrounding the entire concrete floor space. A small, bare bulb hung about 5 metres above his head, shining brightly and giving him a slight headache when he looked at it. There was no window, and he couldn't quite spot a door either.

Goose bumps blanketed his arms in the cold temperature of the room. Leaning against the wall, he pulled his knees to his chest, arms still annoyingly twisted behind him where they were bound, and watched his Unit in front of him, waiting for someone to stir.

Ten minutes of silence passed slowly for Eagle as he listened to his own breathing, to his teammates breathing; whilst also listening for any sound outside of the room. With very keen ears, he would be most likely to hear anything. But there was nothing.

A deep groan shattered the silence, before Snake struggled to sit up, one arm against the wall, eyes still clouded from the drug. The scots man swept the room with his eyes slowly, waiting for the blur to become clear before meeting with Eagles; green meeting blue.

"This is shit," he moaned, attempting to free his legs as he sat up, struggling with the rope that held his feet and hands.

"Yeah I know." Eagle muttered, head still pounding. "At least we're alive," he tried, attempting to brighten their low moods. Snake gave him the look.

Snake frowned, choosing to just ignore what Eagle said in favour of trying to argue that they might as well be dead if they were at the hands of Scorpia.

"Has anyone come in here?" Snake asked distractedly, looking around the room.

"Nope, not since I've been awake. I can't even find the door." Eagle replied truthfully, not caring about how stupid it would have made him sound. Though he knew that right now Snake wouldn't mess around and have a sarcastic argument with him.

The medic scanned the unconscious occupants of the room, noticing how Fox seemed to be on the verge of consciousness, his fluttering eyelids a tell tail of his state. Wolf too, seemed to be on the edge now, but Alex was still completely out of it, no sign of life apart from his shallow breathing, sometimes rasping.

"Eagle, can you try and get me out of these stupid ropes?" Snake half asked, half moaned. But Eagle nodded seriously. He shuffled over the Snake, and the man twisted his arms round so that Eagle could blindly attempt and untie his teammate. The work was difficult, and though they were trained for this, it took him 10 minutes to untie the medic's tightly bound hands. By the time he was done, both Fox and Wolf had regained consciousness and were fully aware, sitting and watching their work in silence.

In turn, Snake untied Eagle's hands before untying his own feet. Once they were both free and able to stand, stretching out, they set to untie Wolf and Fox. It must have taken the men around 40 minutes till they were all untied and standing, and through it all, Alex did not stir once.

The medic strode over to the blonde boy Alex, noticing how now the once bright red blood in his blonde hair was dark, dried. They had been here a while, maybe a day now. Crouching down, Snake gently began to turn him onto his back, which Fox caught onto and helped. They then worked to untie the bonds from both his wrists and ankles.

The damage to his wrist was then revealed, earning gasps from those watching. The ropes had rubbed against the skin, where already bruises had began to form from the car accident. A contrast of deep purple's, blues, blacks and reds swirled together, covering a large area from his fingers to half way up his fore arm. Most was obviously bruising where the arm had collided some time during the accident, but Fox didn't have to be a medic to understand what the red was.

"Anyone have a vest?" Snake asked, only loud enough for them to just catch his question.

"Yeah, why d-" Wolf asked, getting up and going to stand next to Snake. When he saw what was wrong with the boy, he gasped. "What the fuck!" he growled angrily, as he took off his t-shirt and vest, handing Snake the vest and then put his t-shirt back on.

"The crash. He was standing up at the time and was slung forward, through where the windscreen had been and hit the tree. He's broken his wrist-"hepaused, gently but firmly running his fingers over Alex's rib cage. "- and 2 ribs." Snake answered, whilst checking for any more injuries and making sure his airway was fully clear. "And the cut on his forehead needs looking to."

Snake quickly tore Wolf's vest in to pieces, professionally used the larger pieces to wrap the wrist, stem the sluggish blood flow and use it as a support for the broken bone. Considering the circumstances, that was the best thing he could use. Using one of the smaller pieces he'd put to one side, he put pressure on the cut on Alex's head to stem the blood flow as best he could. After half an hour of near silence, the medic went and sat in between Eagle and Fox, joining to watch Wolf absent mindedly pace; if his face and clenched fists were anything to go by, he seriously was angry.

"Anyone else hurt?" Snake asked lowly, though he hadn't spotted anything.

Eagle and Fox silently, solemnly, shook their heads. But Wolf snapped.

"WHY THE FUCK WOULD IT MATTER?" the rest of the unit were sent into a shocked silence as he continued, "we have an unconscious teenage spy, we are stuck in a cell, captured by Scorpia, the world's worst crime organisation EVER. Why would it matter if we were hurt or not?"

Furiously and no doubt not thinking straight, Wolf punched the stone wall, not recognising the pain when his knuckles started to bleed, the skin torn.

"Wolf, don't be fucking stupid man. We've been in worst situations that this before. We're the freaking SAS! Don't be so depressingly weak to give up on us, on Cub, already!"

It was Fox who had risen to his feet, risen to face Wolf and shouted his angry leader down. Snake and Eagle were even more surprised now; it just wasn't in Fox's personality to shout at Wolf like that, at anyone like that, much less to swear as well.

Before anyone could react to his anger explosion, a low groan echoed round the dingy cell. Their heads spun to the source in one fluid motion, rushing over the slowly awakening figure, lying passively on the cold ground.

As soon as he began rasping for breath, they pulled him into a sitting position, his body like a doll in their hands. Alex was propped against Snake's chest. The medic knew that if Cub was conscious enough and not deluded by pain, he would fully care about his dignity in the situation, and would have responded against him.

"Cub? Can you open your eyes for me?" Snake asked gently in his ear.

Slowly Alex opened his eyes fully, momentarily blinded by the bright shine of the light. He squinted for a moment to let his eyes adjust, only to then see Eagle and Fox (the creeps) staring at him in concern. The teen then discovered that he was propped against Snake, whose head was right beside his ear.

"Ah crap," he muttered, and Fox grinned.

"Ha! And you said my language is bad!" he exclaimed childishly, momentarily forgetting the severity of everything.

"It is bad!"

"Where are we?" Alex asked, his voice was slightly slurred and his head was pounding.

"In a cell. Does anywhere apart from your ribs, wrist and head hurt?" Snake asked him swiftly. After a short pause, Alex shook his head at this and the man sighed in obvious relief…well near relief.

"Cub I think you have a concussion." Snake stated simply.

Alex stared at him, uncomprehending what he had said.

His reply was a slurred "Wha-"

"See," Snake said cockily, smiling slyly.

They rolled their eyes.

…

As soon as Alex had opened his eyes, Wolf had switched from his crowding position in preference to pace the room, curses bubbling in his mind for Scorpia, for MI6, for his annoying milkman, for everyone and everything annoying. But he kept thinking of Alex, struggling to come together with the fact that he had pissed off _Scorpia _of all agencies. Admittedly they knew very little of Cub's past, and certainly nothing of his missions with the exceptions of Point Blanc academy and when he was in Australia with Fox.

Some of his colourful curses escaped his mind, leaking through his mouth, escaping his attention; Wolf did not seem to realise that he had spoken aloud, instead just continued his pacing and occasional swearing.

Fox, Snake and Eagle were sitting in near-comfortable silence. Eagle absent mindedly fiddled with a loose thread on his camo pants, twirling it through his fingers in an ever-changing pattern, whilst Fox chose to lean against the wall, slouching, with his eyes closed. The man could pass for sleeping, if not for the fact that his breathing was changing in rates, not like the rhythmic breathing of a sleeper.

Alex still sat propped against Snake. Under the medic's supervision, he had fallen into a light sleep, though there was no doubt that a slightest movement from Snake would cause the teen to stir. When Eagle and Fox had raised eyebrows at the fact that Snake chose to keep Cub against his chest, he had immediately defended that he was already comfortable, and that him laying down could lead to infection in his cuts, worse than the infections that he was bound to develop anyway if he had no treatment.

But the other men of K-Unit were convinced that Snake cared greatly for Cub, not that that was a bad thing. Without saying, they silently admitted to themselves that they too would have most probably done the same thing.

It had been well over an hour since Eagle and Snake had first spoken, but so far, no one had come for them. They still hadn't quite discovered the exit.

Without warning, a door size section of the wall slid open, luckily not where any of the soldiers had been sitting. An even brighter light had now drowned the room, before a tall, dark figure sectioned out the light; causing the occupants able to leap to their feet to do so, settling into stances that they could fight from with ease.

Snake wrapped a protective arm around Cub, pulling him a little closer to his chest. He did not want to see Alex harmed at the torturers hand.

The figure wall quite tall, with curly hair and a limp in one leg. It was difficult to see his face properly, half obscured by shadows, half by his slightly wild black hair, as he simply stood in the entrance. However, it was easy to spot the two tall, armed, and muscled, men with their guns cocked, no doubt willing to shoot them if necessary.

The figure took what seemed to be a slightly strained step forward, allowing K-unit to see him clearer, revealing his identity. It was a certainly a man, his eyes a dulled out blue, skin tone Caucasian. His nose was small, but he had full lips and dark, large eye brows with a prominent chin.

"You!" Fox shouted angrily, taking a step forward as if to confront the man with the cruel smile on his face. Whatever had happened between the two in the past was obviously burnt deeply in Fox's memory, and he certainly as not happy about whatever it was.

At the very same time, Snake's green eyes had nearly doubled in size, part confusion, part disbelief. Voice full of a mix of emotions that came out above the rest as alarm, quietly, he said, "Anthony?"

Alex stirred, sensing the change in the atmosphere. As he slowly came round; his eyes scanned the room, taking in everything he could before settling on the man just 2 metres from him. Brown locked with blue, one holding hatred, one holding defiance.

"Ash?"

_**Chapter 3 should be posted soon I hope! Reviews are welcomed!**_

_**Jellie **_


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N: This chapter is the longest I think I've ever published 0.o. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to read and review!_**

**_Chapter Rated T for swearing!_**

**_ Special thanks to my beta Fate's Silver Chain :D _**

_"You!" Fox shouted angrily, taking a step forward as if to confront the man with the cruel smile on his face. Whatever had happened between the two in the past was obviously burnt deeply in Fox's memory, and he certainly as not happy about whatever it was._

_At the very same time, Snake's green eyes had nearly doubled in size, part confusion, and part disbelief. Voice full of a mix of emotions that came out above the rest as alarm, quietly, he said, "Anthony?"_

_Alex stirred, sensing the change in the atmosphere. As he slowly came round; his eyes scanned the room, taking in everything he could before settling on the man just 2 metres from him. Brown locked with blue, one holding hatred, and one holding defiance._

_"Ash?"_

* * *

><p>"Alex. How pleasant to see you again."<p>

Ash's smile did not falter as he spoke, despite the sadistic, sarcastic tone. But the smile was not one of happiness or joy, oh no. This was one of just pure cruelty, the kind powered by hatred, by loss.

The dull blue eyes held no emotion; the smile refused to meet his eyes, like he was thinking something different to what his face displayed. Ash looked Alex up and down, preferring to ignore the injuries and the life size bags under his eyes.

Like a passing flame, emotion struck his eyes, but whatever it was, it disappeared as soon as it had arrived, lost in the dark emotional turmoil.

Snake stared in utter disbelief. Whether or not his mouth was hanging open in shock, he didn't know, his mind was too busy trying to wrap his head around the situation: around everything; the past, the present, and even the possibly ending future. Last he had heard of Ash, he had been put out of action, but that was, what, 15 years ago?

"Ash?..." Snake asked, his voice barely a whisper, as if scared to ask, or speak.

"Ah, long time, no see Davie. Or should I call you Snake now?" he sneered. His teeth were pearl white, glinting in the fake light. Ash must have money now, enough to waste whitening his sugar abused teeth from his childhood. The medic knew it was a ridiculous thing to think of, but he knew that beforehand Ash had been tight on money. He had to have done _something _to get money, and it certainly wasn't through MI6 or the army. Though that certainly was his plan before it all went wrong.

Alex couldn't take to sit still, restrained by his team mate, merely metres away from the man he had once to sworn to kill. But however hard he tried to escape this confinement, his struggles were in vain against the strong, muscled man. Snake held him there in a vice yet near-comfortable grip. Panting with exhaustion, Alex once again lent against Snake, realising that his attempts were futile. It didn't mean he couldn't speak.

"You should be dead you fucking traitor," Alex simply stated, more of an accusation with the venom coating his voice. For whatever reason, most likely cowardice, Ash ignored the young speaker, instead choosing to watch the man seething before him.

Fox was literally bursting with hatred. He had seen Alex after the events of Dragon 9, seen the pain in his eyes and had known that it had something to do with this man; this _creature _before him. Fire laced his veins in his anger. The bullet wound tingled from the very coward before him.

"I don't know who you are, I don't particularly care, but I do know that you're the bastard who shot me!" Fox vented his anger, weaving it through his words, his speech only displaying a fraction of, well, whatever he felt.

Snake's eyes widened in his undisguised shock; "Shot you? Ash shot you?" Snake cried in disbelief. He now felt like he had been thrown head first into a twisted black hole version of reality. Sure, he had been captured before; he had suffered RTI and been in real life situations, but when it became personal like this, he wasn't sure he knew what to do anymore. It felt like he was struggling to breathe in this vacuum.

The cruel smile seemed to brighten up on his face. For a moment, Eagle though that if the man wasn't a terrorist, he may well have been an actor, a major, cocky, film star.

"Alex. Why don't you explain to your _friends_ who I am?"

Alex looked down to the floor, realising the implications of what his ex-Godfather was trying to instigate. If he revealed the man keeping them prisoner was his god-father, and revealed about Alex's dad and he being best friends, K-Unit might hate him; turn against him and call him son of a traitor. Panic coursed his mind, but he kept his emotions behind his mask, looking up to see everyone looking at him, manically for some, expectantly for the saner.

"K-Unit, this is Anthony Sean Howell. Once a failed MI6 spy, messed up and crippled, he defected and went to Scorpia…" Alex paused, wondering what the hell he was supposed to say in place of 'he's my Godfather and was my father's best friend until he blew him and my mum up on a plane.'

"And…" Ash said cruelly, taunting him.

"He's a failed bastard, who died at B- in Australia earlier this year. Well- supposedly died." Alex elaborated, refraining himself from pointing everything on Ben, who had actually shot the traitorous man.

Listening and watching intently, Wolf and Eagle stood behind Fox, ready and waiting for an assault, for them to have to step in and stop Fox from getting himself killed, from them taking Cub away.

Confusion riddled their thoughts, questions tumbling around, calling for their attention.

Why would Ash say that Alex knew who he was, but Alex choose not reveal anything? Snake had told them that he had had a friend call Anthony, a childhood friend that joined up with him but then left for MI6 with another friend. It didn't explain the connection between Fox and the captor; nothing made sense.

Ash raised his eyebrows, "Alex!" he mockingly tutted, even more to their utter frustration, "What would your father say to this cursing of yours, at 14! He would be ashamed Alex, of what you have become."

Snake could not hide his ashen face.

Fox growled, no longer able to contain himself. The taunting voice teasing their Cub sent control straight out of the window. He'd barely taken a step, fists ready and blood pumping, before he found himself doubled over in pain, gasping-

In the moments leading to his attack, he completely forgotten about the guards, two bald, burly brawns with probably little in the way of brains. In the seconds following, the bunt of a gun was sent smashing into the side of his head, powerful enough to knock him to the ground, sprawled out at awkward angle. Unable to find power to move himself, he lay there, shocked and dazed, breathing heavily on the verge of darkness.

K-unit could not react how they wanted too, as the guards attacking their teammate did obviously not sit well with them. But they could both see that one move would put them in the same position as Fox; a condition that was not useful when it came to the opportunity of escape. They couldn't help but watch as Fox was beaten into unconsciousness.

"Piss off."

Alex's words were filled with hatred, with pain. It once again shocked his teammates; it was rare enough for him to display any emotion in his voice, let alone the burning anger he had voiced today. They knew that he was hurting; physically of course, but mainly emotionally.

"Did that Pratt Ian not teach you any manners at all Alex? John would be ashamed of him too. Trust me, I knew him well." The words seemed to kill the barrier Alex had built to stop himself from physically snapping.

Alex too went to release his rage on the man who seemed to be crushing everything he had built to separate himself from the dark shadows of his past, but alas Snake held him back again in his firm grasp, but Alex was too weak to fight back now; last time had physically worn him to the bone.

Snake knew it was the right thing to do, to hold Cub back, to refrain the capable child from hurting himself more, and getting beaten like Fox. Despite this, the usually diplomatic medic wanted nothing more than to get Ash himself.

"Hmmm. Well gentlemen, Cub, I will speak to you very soon. We can all have a chat with little Alex, can't we? About what he has kept from us," Ash taunted them sarcastically, setting Alex up to have a lot of explaining to do, before leaving and locking the door behind him. Sealing them in the windowless room, the space where the door once was melting into the wall, seeming to disappearing from sight.

As he walked down the corridor, there was no one to witness the small knot of worry beaded on his forehead, buried deep behind the lines of stress he had developed over the years.

Back in the cell, silence continued to leak from K-Unit; their tired minds still comprehending the recent happenings of the long day, emotionally straining for some. Wolf crouched beside his fall comrade, checking his pupils, airway, pulse, and the wound his head. Luckily, there wasn't a lot of blood.

As soon as he had finished checking Fox over, he did it again. And again. And again.

Eagle laid a restraining hand on Wolf's shoulder, feeling his leader's muscles tense as he froze, stopping the task of taking Fox's pulse. "Wolf. He's fine." Eagle gently told him assuring him, gesturing to the man on the floor, whose eyelids were beginning to flicker, his breathing normal, calm.

Wolf nodded, eyes closed as he took a deep breath. Once he felt Eagle's hand move from his shoulder, he stood, moving towards Snake and Cub, who had not moved. He took in Cub's pale face, slumped position, slightly laboured breathing and closed eyes, realising that he was not conscious either.

Despite vaguely knowing, Wolf had to ask: "How's Cub?"

"I…I'm not sure. He's either sleeping or passed out. My guess is he's somewhere in between. It's just- I just… I can't believe Ash." Snake mumbled, moulding his sentence into one near unintelligible mumble.

"Go on, tell me Snake," Wolf coaxed gently, sliding down next to his teammate.

Snake took a deep breath. "We were frie-"the medic took another deep breath. It was at the moment that Wolf realised just how big and stressful this was for his teammate; whatever was going on with this man, Ash, it ran deep. Wolf was silent in his discovery.

"Back when I was 16, I started Sixth Form, and became friends with Ash," he gestured to where the door once was, "and this guy called John. After we finished A-Levels, we joined up, and then fought in Iraq together. After a while, they got contacted by MI6 to work for them, and they accepted. I wasn't surprised. Ash was a brilliant soldier; loyal, determined, skilled fighter and shooting. Man, John was the best shooter I've ever seen. Beat's Eagle hand down," Snake paused for the disgruntled 'hey!' from said man. Both he and Wolf chuckled, momentarily breaking the tense atmosphere.

"But Ash was a good guy, a loyal guy. I lost contact with them after they left to be spies and I started field medic training, and then last thing I knew of them Ash had been in an accident that killed his career, and then 2 years later John had died. Then Ash is here, and he's not the same, and he's-he's…" Snake trailed off, refusing to get emotional, yet unable to continue.

"And now he's a sadistic git who wants to kill us?" Wolf finished for him, his tone just as mulled as that of Snake. Like a finalising sentence of life.

"Well...yeah pretty much, putting it bluntly. I just want to know how he knows Cub." The medic stated, looking down at the teen. It seemed now he was sleeping, but his face was morphed into one of slight anxiousness.

A small whimper echoed around their cell; a nightmare then. No one knew what do, how to deal with a nightmare, so this small, childish sound was shadowed by the intimate silence, one that stayed.

* * *

><p>True to his word, merely an hour later found the Unit tied by their wrists and ankles to solid metal chairs; solid metal chairs bolted to the floor in fact- not a good factor if they actually found an opportunity of escape.<p>

The room had four white walls, with a plain grey metal door nestled in the corner. Somewhere, there were undoubtedly concealed cameras, but the SAS men couldn't see them, nor could the ex-Spy who was suffering from a major headache, and of course Cub, half unconscious in his seat.

Suddenly, the door was obnoxiously thrown open, subjecting K-unit to all jump slightly, and Ash near strutted in, the usual maniac's smile on his face like a machine; it seemed forced, maybe like a grimace. But that quickly changed as he stopped to stand before them, where the sadistic smile did indeed turn real, recomposing his once handsome face to one of a madman.

"K-Unit, Alex. How pleasant to see you again! I'm getting a sense of déjà vu, seeing you here before me!" He sneered cruelly, disregarding Fox and Alex's condition.

There was silence. Disgusted by Ash, K-unit preferred to pretend like he didn't speak at all, this could also be the bases of an Interrogation Resistance technique, though Wolf knew that Ash could easily weave his way into angering Snake, maybe Fox and Cub as well. Their position did not look good.

"You're not in a conversational mood? That's a shame, I'm sure you will be talking soon," there was a menacing threat lurking in his voice, one that hung in their minds as he continued speaking. Every word made it harder for Alex to contain the bile rising in his throat.

"Considering that Alex seems to not be in a very talkative mood, I thought I might give you a little history lesson. Mine mostly, intertwined with others in the room of course, and those who have died. What good would a history lesson be if there were no deaths in the story?"

When he sensed no reaction to his grin of glee, Ash continued.

"I hope to not bore you too much, of course, I would appreciate it if you were to stay awake," Ash growled, yanking Fox's dropping head up by his hair, a satisfied grin showing when the soldier yelped in pain; startling fully awake.

"As you most likely know, my full name is Anthony Sean Howell. I was best friends with Jonathon Rider and David McCathy; we joined up together, fought side by side in Iraq. Then MI6 offered John and I both places in their Secret Service Company, and so obviously, we agreed and left. It soon became apparent that John was the best, and I was like his shadow, always second best." His voice was sour, unforgiving and hard. All the soldiers were silent, and even Cub was watching, his eyes cold. Waiting for lies and truths.

"For a while, we did minor missions, moved up in the world. Then John's puny little brother Ian joined, and suddenly I found myself second best to the both of them. I was given a chance to run a very important mission, but thanks to John, I was crippled as a result of the failure. Alan Blunt decided the desk rookie was where I belonged, and flicked me off like dirt on his shoe." The bitterness was there, with no disguise. K-unit knew that silence was the only option right now; if they were to interrupt when he was even a little emotionally unbalanced, Cub would probably take the beating.

"Degraded and angry, I was obviously very angry. It was all MI6's fault that I was like the way I was, so I left. I got in contact with Scorpia and to my own delight, completed their training. You'd know what that felt like won't you Alex?" he looked pointedly at the teen, who's eyes had widened in shock. K-unit now knew that he defected to Scorpia, but they didn't know the reasons, or that he was good again. Panic welled in his head at the looks of disbelief he was at the tail end of receiving.

"Soon enough I was sent on my first mission," he reminisced with a smile.

"An assassination. At first I wasn't quite sure if I should do it, could do it. But then I remembered my jealousy, my hatred for this man. I wanted to eradicate him and his wife, the one who got away. I discovered that he got everything he wanted; a son, the job, the girl, and the he decided he didn't want it any more, he threw it all away. It made me even angrier, I couldn't believe him. So when he hopped on his private plane and sent me an invitation to see him off, I planted a bomb on his plane. They both died instantly." His tone held no regret, he sounded happy. Alex couldn't bare it. His parents trusted this man with their lives, and what they got in return was him killing them in cold blood. Tears brimmed, but they refused to fall. Alex had more restraint than that.

"You monster!" Snake exploded. "Bastard-"

"I haven't finished David." He threatened, bringing out his gun and holding it in the direction of Snake's head. Wisely, he was quiet.

"I thought the stupid new born baby was on the plane, but I later discovered that he had an ear infection or something so he stayed behind. My stupid god damn god son was supposed to die on the plane with his parents, like Scorpia said. So when I failed to kill all of them, they sent me undercover, as part of the ASIS. My orders were simple; wait for him to come along. Scorpia knew, just when he was born, that MI6 would use him, though there probably was a bug in the company. I did my waiting, and then the bastard shows up. I completed a mission with him; he was so much like John, but that only made me hate him more. This child destroyed our plans, and I got shot in the end. Everybody thought that I had died; it gave me a chance to recuperate, and so here I am to finish the job I should've finished 14 years ago."

The unit were silent still. Alex was sweating, his heartbeat doubling. The unit were going to find out who he was; why they were gonna die…

"K-unit. Meet Alexander John Rider. Son of the late John and Helen Rider. Nephew of the late Ian Rider. My God son."

Alex cringed as all 4 members of K-unit turned to stare it him; in shock, maybe horror.

"Cub?"

* * *

><p>Anthony Sean Howell was not a good man. He knew that.<p>

Once upon a time he was, a long time ago. A time when he was willing to serve his country, sacrifice his life for the ones who needed it. Ash had friends, he had admirers; he was a good, patriotic young man. He had always strived to be the best; he had shown that time and time again with his flawless grades, his valiant work in the armed forces; even MI6 wanted him.

At first, he wasn't sure spying was for him- he could have joined the SAS if he had wanted too, he would have made it in. He and David could have been in the same Unit, could have worked, trained and died together to save innocent people.

But John had convinced him that he would get better recognition for his skills if he switched MI6, that they needed more men like him. Loyal men. So he joined MI6, his life still young and hoping to be the best. Maybe that was where his life went wrong.

Neither of them knew that everything would change. Their perspective of the world shrunk- the world was a horrible place, and with that stark realisation, they changed. Within only a few years of minor missions, killing and sacrificing had turned them into what James Bond didn't show. They were paranoid, they were jumpy, and most of all, they turned cold.

Until John had found Helen.

She had been a friend to them, in their sixth form they had first met in. Then John and Helen caught up when John had been shot in the arm, nothing serious of course. Unbeknownst to either friends, Ash had always liked her, even as they were growing up.

But she chose John.

Ash was happy at first, but soon he was bitter when his friend was too busy with his wife to even talk to him most of the time, apart from at work where they could not even talk freely.

Ash was bitter towards John, to Helen, to life.

The trigger was when Ian Rider joined MI6, to the pride of John. Oh how he hated Ian Rider, who pushed him away from John, from the top, made him No.3. No longer was he John's partner, it was Ian now. Everybody then compared him, Ash, to Ian Rider. They thought that he was better than him.

Then there was that mission. That fatal mission, where his one mistake killed people, killed his career. For the rest of his life, his body was a constant reminder of his failure. Blunt hadn't as much as battered an eyelid at him, just scolded him like a child for killing his agents and sent him to a call desk on the lower floors. He really did become the dirt beneath both Riders shoes.

And with that, Anthony Sean Howell changed. Bitter, angry, vengeful and full of hatred for MI6 and the stupid Rider family- he blamed Ian for his career ending injuries, despite what everyone thought was the mans 'innocence'. Thing's would've been different if Ian wasn't involved at all.

Scorpia found him when he went looking for them, offering him a life in their business, offering revenge, offering money, and lots of it. Who wouldn't take this opportunity? Although hard, their training showed him what he had been missing all those years he wasted in the army, in MI6; their training turned you quickly, gave you power.

Planted back in London, he then received an invitation to a christening. John had had a child with his girl! He obliged, and as he was made Godfather,standing at the front of the church beside Helen and John, he thought of nothing but their deaths. They had ruined him and taken what should have been his. It was their time to die.

And so he planted the bomb and watched his once best friend and once lover explode to nothingness. Little knowing that his godson was not on the plane.

That Scorpia had not killed him for not murdering the 2 week old child came as a surprise; he had thought that they would see him as failure, like MI6 had before, but in fact they had seen it as an opportunity to get revenge on MI6 in the future, a plot that Ash had been in from the very start. A plan he had been more than happy to play a major part of.

But his impetuous teenage Godson had ruined it. Ruined what 15 years of his life had been dedicated too. And now, as he scanned the cellar before him, his mind turned to the hundreds of different methods of torture that were _his_to use, to make Alex Rider and his Unit mates realise what a mistake the boy had made to mess with Scorpia.

They would have no idea what hit them.

They would pay.

**_….Meanwhile…_**

Wolf seethed. He didn't like torturous, sarcastic madmen on a whole, he didn't like being tied down in anway, and he certainly did not like it when someone decided to mess with his Unit. Or when his Unit decided to mess up.

"That sadistic bastard is your _Godfather_?" Wolf shouted, outraged; he seemed to have forgotten about Alex's 'fling' with Scorpia, something that the spy was extremely grateful for. Wolf continued to fume about their situation.

Their situation had not changed; the ropes around their wrists were itchy and extremely uncomfortable, though nothing that the SAS team couldn't handle. It was the teenager that they held most concern for.

Alex was in excruciating pain. It was nothing that he hadn't felt before, but usually he could find a way to stop the pain, or get away from it. But it stayed, and he knew that it would only get worse. His wrist felt like it was being scolded alive, even through the ripped pieces of Wolf's vest that seemed to be getting darker and heavier, no doubt changing to the colour red soon. Blood red.

"Cub?" Snake gently said to the boy, who was tied up beside him, complexion decreasing in colour gradually, though speeding up by the minute. The medic just hoped that soon they would be back in their cell…something that he'd never though he would ever say.

"Yeah?" he replied quietly, straining.

"You holding up?" he asked sympathetically, though he knew the answer.

"I'm trying." He said shortly, and Snake nodded, agreeing with him, thinking that that was the end of their conversation.

However, Alex continued to say one last thing. "Snake, please stop Wolf shouting."

It was like a whimper, at least the closest thing Snake knew he would probably ever hear from the boy. It certainly was not something that he was expecting.

Eagle had been quiet since their capture, reasonably so considering his usual need to talk hyper actively and generally annoy everyone around him; be a child in way. Obviously he had paid a lot of attention of the goings on around him; reactions to the happenings of things, and most of all listening to whatever Cub said. The man had been trying to block out Wolf's ranting's, and he knew that Wolf would never meaningly do this to annoy anyone; it was more of his way of letting his anger out when he couldn't punch anyone. But his leader needed to have more self-control, especially in this sort of situation. Though Eagle was considering on making a statement, it was the innocent words tumbling out of Cub's mouth that caused him to snap.

"Wolf. I swear if you don't fucking shut up the hell up right now I'll kill you the second my hands are free. I know this is all shit, we're all suffering too, and you shouting and talking like that does not help one little bit. You're making it worse. Buckle up and be the rational leader we all know you can be. Control yourself and don't mess this shit up!"

Mind blowing silence was what followed Eagle's outburst. Nothing more, nothing less. Surprise reined in thoughts from everyone; they were shocked of this, especially from _Eagle. _This hyper active man was also very placid in terms of temper, though admittedly he was certainly protective, and defensive. Snake had known that his teammate would say something; he just didn't think that it would be, well, like that. Fox was also surprised, but he was just waiting for the retaliation of his leader, Wolf was never one to back down from anything.

Alex was just glad that he had stopped with the constant loud ranting. It was the last thing that he had needed, and he was grateful for Eagle stepping in and shutting Wolf up. The main source of the rants were obviously about Ash, but they varied to him as well; about him really, and his family. Emotionally, he couldn't take it.

And Wolf; speechless. Not once had anyone in his unit ever spoken to him that way. It had always been the other way round for him; telling them to buckle up and control themselves in difficult situations, it was why he was chosen to be team leader. He was the one who was supposed to keep a level head.

Seeing the grim, tired looks of his unit, the bags shadowing the silent agreement with Eagle that was hidden, displayed in their eyes only. Even Cub, in the state he was in, Wolf realised that even he was on his ends, and this was, well, Cub.

"I'm sorry." Wolf muttered quietly, ashen.

Before any of them could react out loud to his sincere apology, the door was dramatically thrown open again, and Ash strode in, accompanied by a tall, bulked, bald brute. The latter was holding an array of what only could be weapons of torture on a tray in his arms.

Alex swallowed carefully as he mapped their entrance, vision trained only on the silver tray. It was only the rest of the unit that saw it as a result.

Ash's eyes were trained on Alex; and Alex only.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**_**Hellooooo readers :D me again, with the next chapter of Caught in the Fading Light's. Hope you enjoy this chapter, don't forget to R&R!**

**Warning: Swearing**

**Special thanks to my completely awesome Beta Fate's Silver Chain, couldn't have got through it without you :D**

_"I'm sorry." Wolf muttered quietly, ashen._

_Before any of them could react out loud to his sincere apology, the door was dramatically thrown open again, and Ash strode in, accompanied by a tall, bulked, bald brute. The latter was holding an array of what only could be weapons of torture on a tray in his arms._

_Alex swallowed carefully as he mapped their entrance, vision trained only on the silver tray. It was only the rest of the unit that saw it as a result._

_Ash's eyes were trained on Alex; and Alex only._

* * *

><p>They had been cut, punched, kicked, and shocked; over and over again, whilst the same questions drummed into their heads. Really, minor in comparison to what Ash would have access to, but maybe it was just the beginning; Scorpia would no doubt want to have a little bit of fun with K-Unit before they murdered them.<p>

They had taken it in silence. Alex wasn't up to his usual sarcastic self, not with Ash. Somehow he knew that the traitor would not take kindly to sarcasm, and would in return take it out on his teammates. He didn't want that.

But as one brutal punch to Fox's head, delivered by the henchman using the cold brass knuckled from the tray, left the man near unconscious, a small trickle of dark red blood beginning to fall down side of his head, Alex had a good reason to snap.

"I fucking told you already; I don't know this any of this shit, neither do they, so leave us alone!" Alex all but screamed at Ash in vein, voice only breaking once as he struggled to control his anger and his pain. There was no way he was going to give up, not now, not ever. Shaking, he though through what Ash was asking; military codes for a black ops operation in the Middle East? Alex concluded that something was wrong, something he wasn't getting; why would Ash think that they knew such codes?

Ash tutted sarcastically; "I know John would be ashamed of you Alex. Any man would be ashamed of a son as weak as _you _Alex Rider. That's why Ian abandoned you so often Alex, left you to fend for yourself for months at a time when you were just a little boy," Ash sneered.

K-unit all frowned; Alex was often left to fend for himself, abandoned, when he was younger? It certainly would explain his raw survival instinct, and the fact that he liked to be alone, but that was child neglect. Alex thought Ash had finished, but he had only just begun.

"Alex, I knew John. I knew him well. Better than anyone ever did, and I know that he had always pictured to have a son with his blonde hair and his brown eyes, much like yourself. But he pictured a successful, intelligent, strong son. But no, he got you. You're nothing. Worthless." Ash spat.

Physical pain was said to be nowhere near as painful as emotional pain, as heartbreak. Alex had always doubted that, especially when he started working in the spy world with all the injuries that accompanied that burden. But what he felt now, this disappointment that raked his chest, it was worse than getting shot in the very same place. The words wound round his heart like a chord and tugged painfully, heartbreakingly.

Ash had known is father well, he wasn't lying there, so was his statement true? Was he not what his father had ever wanted? The weight of the fact that he had disappointed his late father was crushing; he struggled to bear under it. All his life, he had had dreams of pleasing his father, making him proud from where he watched over him. Would he only have been a disappointment to him?

Alex Rider bowed his head in shame.

Wolf could not bear the look on Cub's face as the teen took in the information that his _godfather _had told him; it was more painful than ever before to see his youngest Unit member bow his head; it was not something that Alex Rider did. He hadn't known him for long, merely 6 months, but he had come to accept him, like him, respect him. They had undergone training and missions, in sweat and blood, and been captured, tortured before; Wolf had seen Cub angry, sad, depressed, pained, happy, hysterical, and proud and so much more, but he had never ever bowed his head. It should have stayed that way.

It wasn't right.

"Oi!" he blurted to the man, preferring to be ignorant of the consequences.

Snake and Eagle glanced at him in disbelief, silent looks telling him that he was an idiot, but that they expected this of him in a way. A crooked smile hung off Ash's face as the henchmen advanced towards Wolf, crowbar in hand.

He gulped.

Deciding to name him Baldy, something Cub had taught him when they had first met…

_-Flashback-_

_"Cub, you keep talking about the men you deal with as people with names- wouldn't it make them harder to kill?" Eagle enquired, confused, looking straight at the slightly uncomfortable teen._

_Alex laughed humourlessly, "It makes it more entertaining you know?" he said, smiling. But Wolf could tell, there and then, that he was lying; the smile was faked. He had seen him smile for real earlier, and it looked nothing like that. The leader was certain of it._

_"Oh," Eagle replied dully, obviously expecting more._

_"Now tell us the real reason," Wolf said with a slight growl. Alex frowned._

_"People have a fear of the unknown Wolf; that's common knowledge. Give them a name, they have a personality, and suddenly they're not scary anymore." Alex explained softly, quietly._

_"Oh…" Wolf trailed off, not expecting something as deep as that to slip from the child's mouth._

_-End of Flashback_-

Wolf looked straight into his eyes; a pale, sickly shade of green, cold and twisted, like the snarl on his lips. It was maddening, to see a human being taking so much pleasure in the very thought of beating another. He also seemed very stereotypical, tapping the crowbar on his opposite palm like a man in a movie, stereotypical but very much the fear inducing character he imitated.

Raising the black bar of metal above his bald head- casting a shadow over the soldier, Wolf felt sick. The snarl turned to a crazed yet satisfied smile as he took the final step towards him, raising the bar to level with his own shoulder, both hands gripping tightly, muscles flexing. Wolf knew when it him, it would not be pretty- but he wasn't scared, not at all. Fear would give this bastard even more pleasure.

Seconds before the crowbar hit, Ash's voice cut through the tense silence of the room; "As much as it would bring me great pleasure to hurt this runt, he needs to be coherent as possible. What fun would he be unconscious, one with a fire like him?" he grinned snidely, teasing them, setting them up to be prepared for when everything got worse.

The brute, Baldy, grunted in his displeasure and dropped his position, somewhat sagging his shoulders in unhidden annoyance, it was obvious he was against Ash's decision, yet he did not argue. This confused Wolf. Ash obviously was not part of a higher class of Scorpia; he had been ordered to be into the field, away from the plans, for 14 years- so why did he respect Ash's orders, when their levels couldn't be that different, despite Ash being the so called 'leader' of this operation.

Guessing, Wolf would say that he was ruled out of fear; it must have been what ruled this brute- fear. It could work in their advantage, if Ash had a hold over him. He just needed to know what it was, if it was anything at all.

Said man was standing in front of Cub, as he had been questioning him about something, giving him the fresh fast forming bruises down the side of his face. Wolf's earlier anger once again started to bubble, seeing Ash's face itself causing this reaction.

"Listen you bastard! He doesn't know the codes. We don't know the bloody codes. So just fucking let us go. I don't care if you're Cub's godfather, or Snake's ex-best buddy, but hurting my unit is outta bounds. Give me your gun and I'll show you just how much you're worth you son of a bitch!" Wolf shouted, outraged; louder than before, louder than Snake had ever heard him shout, even when he shouted at Eagle. His unit flinched.

Even Ash wanted to flinch, but he had to maintain their fear for their lives, for each other's lives, or he could not continue his mission. His vital mission. So Instead, Ash laughed and approached the boiling man, each heavy footstep echoing around the otherwise silent chamber. Ash's footsteps were cocky- to match his show, his attitude.

Once standing a metre from Wolf, Ash chuckled again, then began to speak; "Wolf. You have quite a temper, and you're obviously very protective of your team. In vein of course, but sweet all the same," he paused, just to hear Wolf's growl. Satisfied, he continued, "As for your request…well I'm afraid that I cannot do that for you…And as for the codes, well I don't care if you know them or not. Maybe your death will prove your innocence, we'll have to see." He grinned again. Wolf spat on his face in his disgust.

Ash punched him angrily, forcing his head back onto the back of the chair. The man growled.

Snake's mind was swimming, trying to come up with answers to, again, a seemingly ending list of questions. One stuck in his mind deep, on replay; how could the patriotic, calm, intelligent, loyal and above all good man he once knew now be _this, this monster_? It didn't, no _couldn't _register in his mind.

What once was a friendship was now nothing more than a humungous brick wall, separating them a thousand miles apart, dividing everything about them. It obviously had started to build when they were split, when they lost contact; all thrown into work, they'd had no time to contact each other: they hadn't even tried. The distance the wall separated had spiralled out of control, and next thing he knew Ash was crippled for life, then John was dead. But he had continued his career, he had gotten where he needed to be, where he wanted to be. Maybe he'd run from everything too fast. Snake knew he should have gone and talked to Ash, but he could never find him; he had seemingly disappeared from the face of the Earth. So Snake just pursued his career, hoping to forget about his past.

He hadn't realised that in the meantime, so much had happened. The gap between them had filled with cold, deep hatred for this man. Ash had taken the future of a child, John's child, killed his former best friend, his ex-lover and, no doubt, countless others. He had betrayed, shot, murdered, and worst of all, he didn't give a shit; in fact he took pleasure in it all apparently.

Now Snake knew how to hate for real; before, he had joined the army because he wanted to protect people, to protect his country. And it was people like Ash that gave him to reason to fight. David vowed inside his head that he would get John's son out alive, that his Unit would get out alive, whatever the costs may be. No one, especially a child, should suffer through whatever Ash had planned. It wasn't going to be nice.

Alex's mind wasn't swimming, oh no; it was drowning. It was just too much for him to handle right now. He knew Ash was a traitor, knew that he was a cold man now, an angry man. But not evil. Never evil. His category for evil was Dr Greif, Dr Three, Herold Sayle; mad men who had tried to destroy the world, or take over the world, for person gain. But Alex had never even considered that Ash, the ex-best friend of his father, as evil; that is, until now.

Now he knew that there was no other way, no other word, to describe him; it was just something that he would have to accept, use and move on with. Unavoidable. Moving on would be more than beneficial for him, he knew that, but he couldn't. Everything else, he could just move on, plough through, deal with. Not this. It was a metal wall he couldn't jump over, a rubber room he could never escape from. He wanted to scream out loud.

The thing he clung too to stop himself from releasing his high stacking emotions, was the one thing he should be trying to block out; the pain from his wrist and the throbbing of his ribs; it hurt, hurt so much he knew had had trapped himself in a black cocoon, a safe bubble. There was a soft murmur in his left ear, comforting and constant; also a voice that he thought was familiar.

It might have been Fox, after all, he'd been given time to recuperate slightly from the punch, and he wasn't in the SAS for nothing.

Wolf's growl brought somewhat bought Snake back into reality. "You can't kill us. SAS will kick your sorry ass before you get round to killing us. And maybe we don't know shit about the codes, but if we did, we wouldn't tell you a single fucking thing!" He shouted in defiance, no fear showing in his eyes, he wouldn't back down to scum.

As for Eagle, well he had continued assessing the situation; he was a thinker, an analyst, and also the most positive of the group. But their situation didn't look good. Currently, they were in the hands of Scorpia, locked away and tied up in an unknown, seemingly in an inescapable position. Their torturer was a deluded madman with emotional ties to two vital members of the team, their leader was furiously shouting and spitting at the madman, their medic was trapped in a moral, emotional battle (but would pull through if the situation demanded it), he, the analyst, was, well, analysing, and their hostage negotiator, spy, and technical guy was comforting their youngest member; talking quietly, constantly, into Cub's ear whilst he seemed to be in a zone out, desperate for Ash to not notice, using Wolf as a distraction.

Cub.

The tormented boy seemed to be coping badly with their situation, though his facial expression didn't give away anything, nor did his eyes- though they were unusually dull- it was the way he sat, slumped, head facing forward but obviously seeing nothing. Cub's spy mask was disconcerting, increasingly so; Eagle was sure that it wasn't healthy for teenagers to supress emotions, or anyone for that matter. But everyone had masks, ways of dealing with situations; for example Wolf tended to shout and scowl, Fox tended to try and help someone else- kind of like taking the spotlight to someone else, Snake tended to concentrate on the main matter of their situation, like a distraction. Eagle himself masked nearly everything he did, laughing out loud, joking, showing a childish side that had people annoyed with him, not realising that he was in distress, or under stress, or maybe even bored.

For him, it was the ultimate defence mechanism that always worked; it covered the sense of darkness, the growing shadow at the back of his mind. He knew escape was going to be very difficult, maybe impossible. Was the shadow about his chances at surviving? Was it for his team?

Or was the shadow of doubt for Cub, the child forcibly dragged into the darkest of the adult world, where his own Godfather was planning to kill him, like he did to his parents before?

This mucked up, twisted world, was something that Cub could no longer leave; he in too deep- everyone could see that now, or maybe just the ones that cared enough to look. It seemed that he had been misguided into joining MI6, if he had even made the decision himself. Maybe it was their government gone mad, ruining the life of an innocent teen; he had to admit to himself, it was a highly plausible theory. Cub certainly didn't seem the type to get messed up in this; he seemed too level headed to throw himself into this shit.

Eagle had not realised that the depth of his thoughts had allowed him to get carried away, he'd zoned out of the room, much like Cub; the complex thoughts paired with his fatigue had allowed this. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain slitting across his right cheek, igniting a spark of pain, and a lot of surprise; this wasn't a serious injury, he'd suffered worst. Warmth soon spread across the bottom half of this cheek- blood?

Glancing up in near disbelief, he saw that Ash was right in front of him, grinning, and a small knife in his hand, crimson red layering the metal, dripping slowly every couple of seconds onto Eagle's knee. He shivered; the warmth from the cut on his cheek was spreading to his neck- there was more blood than he had first thought was possible.

"Bastard," he muttered, glaring at the knife bearer. In return for his words, there was a punch to his left cheek; both sides of his face now stinging.

"Now now boy, none of you language here; maybe you're the reason that Alex swears so much!" Eagle glanced at Cub, who was still in his dazed condition, though Fox was no longer speaking to him. Had his brain really tricked him in time, on how long he had been thinking about Cub and his Unit?

"So boys; tongues not lose?" at their scowls, the familiar smile flickered and he continued, "Trust me K-unit, I have many more methods, much more effective than today's; you may not like it, but I do. Until then…" he paused, maybe trying to raise the tension in the room. Mockingly, he gave a fake salute and began to saunter for the door, but Snake spoke up before he left the room.

"What if we don't know the codes?" he asked, voice purposely sounding vulnerable; even though he knew Wolf had asked earlier. The medic pictured this as a sort of test; to see if there was any of the Ash he used to know still in there, buried deep.

Ash turned round to look at him, face deadly serious this time, the mocking smile had vanished.

"Well that's your problem Davie, not mine; I believe I've already explained this to your leader," and with that he left, motioning to the guards outside the door to take them back to their cell.

Wolf tried to fight the two guards as they wrestled him out of the chair, but two punches to the gut and he was bent over, winded, and distracted enough for them to tie his hands up and drag him away. One by one it continued in that way, Eagle giving up the most brutal fight which he was sure was going to leave him with a black eye and maybe even a broken rib.

However, when it was Fox's turn, he didn't fight them. "I'll go without a fight if you let me carry him," he persuaded, pointing to Cub, "You don't wanna get blood on your shirt or have to carry him do you?" he asked, trying to keep his voice monotone.

The oaf of a guard's pale brown eyes narrowed, but he nodded agreement; "Try anything funny, and I'll smash the kids head in," the man threatened. Fox nodded easily and picked the half unconscious Cub up once the ropes were untied.

Fox didn't try anything; it wasn't his plan. Instead he tried to walk as gently as possible, avoiding taking big steps whilst at the same time walking at the guards speed, for there was a gun in his back, pushing him along when he would slow. Throughout the journey, he continued murmuring comforting words to Cub; sure, Cub would be embarrassed to be carried by him, anyone with dignity would. But at the same time, it would be good to know Fox cared.

* * *

><p>A clicking sound awoke k-unit from their light slumbers, though the same couldn't be said for Cub; he didn't do as much as stir. This was very abnormal for the boy that relied on his senses so much.<p>

It had been 2 days since they had last seen Ash in that room, and during the course of 2 days the man had not shown his face to k-unit, just to Cub. Several times Alex had been taken, questioned and beaten, returning a little more scarred than before every time.

Of course the unit had fought, but the henchmen possessed Tasers, and were by no means hesitant to use them. The resistance never ended in anything but pain for all of them; Cub had told them to not bother anymore, it just dragged at their strength and mood and made their situation look bleaker.

Someone slipped a large tray into the room, and then the door closed again, once again leaving them alone. Fox went to inspect the tray, positively surprised to find that there were 2 large jugs of clear looking water on it, 5 slices of hardish bread and some grapes. It was a man in captivities version of heaven; they hadn't eaten in 3 days, though they had had a little bit of water. The tray also held 30 strips of bandage and cloths, but this was ignored in favour of their growling stomachs.

Fox gasped when he saw the nice looking food, so Wolf and Snake came over to investigate what was hidden by Fox's crouched down body. Eagle wanted to see what was going on, but he had Cub sitting on him, his hands occupied holding the teenager to his chest so that he didn't fall forward. Alex had some serious wounds and needed to be kept off the floor just in case they got infected, and to be kept warm in the cold cell.

"What have they given us guys?" he called out curiously, stomach rumbling at the mere smell.

"Grapes, bread and clean water," Snake replied cheerily, only for his next sentence to come in a more serious tone; "Try and wake Cub up- he needs to eat and I don't want him to slip into any sort of coma." Snake instructed as he swept his eyes over the two.

"Cub, wake up!" Eagle gently said, slightly jogging Alex's shoulder gently but firmly. Frowning when there was no reaction, he tried again with the same technique; he tried 5 times before he received any reaction, but this certainly was not the reaction that he had been expecting.

The second he was conscious, Cub trying to break free from Eagle, who had immediately attempted to restrain him; so he would hurt himself further, not that Cub had realised this at all. It was obvious he had panicked to find someone holding him the second he awoke, like an instinct of escape was propelling this incoherent fighting.

Eagle struggled to keep Cub in his hold, so he called for Snake, who glanced up immediately to see what was the commotion was all about, before rushing over and ordering the others to give them space.

What Eagle couldn't see as he struggled to hold the teen was his eyes, wide like a horse's eye when it was in fear. Terrified; maybe he'd been in a nightmare when Eagle had woken him.

"Cub! Alex! It's okay kiddo! Calm, down," Alex seemed to react somewhat to his voice, though still fighting Eagle's hold with less force, "Alex! It's alright, you're okay," Snake shushed, watching as the boy stopped fighting Eagle all together, but breathing heavily. "That's it Cub, breathe for me, yeah that's it…1…2…3, you're okay," Snake repeatedly went through he breathing exercise with the teen.

After 5 minutes of soothing tones and words of encouragement, Cub calmed down enough to fall into a light slumber, his face resting to one of peace.

"We need to get out of here. Help isn't coming. We need a plan." Fox finalised the events, tone sombre.

Snake split the food into 5 sections, the fifth portion slightly larger for the most injured member and youngest member. The unit ate in a depressing silence, slowly digesting the food so they would not regurgitate it after 2 and a half days of no food. The large water jug was drank from slowly, only drinking small amounts despite their thirst; there was no way of telling when the next drink came. The other was decidedly left for medical reasons, and the pieces of cloth. Though Snake could clean Alex's wounds right then and there, it would mean waking him up to pain and he did not know how the teen would react, if he would injure himself further. It was better to wait.

Cub was shifted carefully to Wolf's lap so Eagle could stretch; he may be a fully trained SAS soldier, but he could still get pins and needles.

They fell asleep soon after, feeling slightly better yet knowing that their situation was slowly escalating out of control.

….….

It wasn't till quite a while later than Alex woke on his own accord, but when he did there was no one else in the cell. The temperature had certainly dropped; he had goose bumps on his arms and was shivering slightly, yet he felt hot. Too hot. In fact, the cool concrete beneath him felt a relief through his torn cargo pants.

At least he wasn't sweating; dehydration was not on his to do list. But he was ill, or maybe he'd been infected through a cut…yes, that would explain it. Not to forget the internal reminders of his pain; the headache pounding at his skull, feeling seconds away from making his head explode. Part of him wished it just would. He'd had enough now: that much was clear in his eyes.

For several minutes he sat in his trance like state before his blurred eye sight cleared enough for him to see the details of the room. In the corner he spotted a tray with food on, and some water.

Hungry, he painfully shuffled over to the tray. There was a small group of grapes, a slice of near-stale bread and a quarter of a jug, obviously filled with water otherwise k-unit would not have drunk from it. Judging from the fact that the other jug was untouched, he decided that he wasn't supposed to drink it, for whatever reason he didn't care.

Alex took a long drink from the bottle, and then gobbled down the bread and the grapes. He saved the rest of the water. The last thing he wanted was to drink it all in one go and then not get any for 3 days. However, food was something he could live without for a week, well, at least that was the longest he had had to go without it.

Not sure what to do with himself and not wanting to be an imbecile and just sit on the floor, he painfully stood and walked around the dingy cell, uncramping his stiff muscles.

Before long, a fire started to burn in his muscles, forcing him to sit down again in exhaustion. Every little cut and bruise stung, contributing to the massive wall of pain he experienced; his chest stung especially. It wasn't something he couldn't handle though.

Alex went on to dream of when he was 5 years old, when he remembered his biggest pain was cut knees and elbows, and paper cuts or falling off his bike. Reflecting like that made him want to smile; if only he could go back in time and warn himself of his bleak future.

But those memories only brought more pain. The emotional aches and pains that developed from a lie; it had been the base of his childhood, only to reach adolescence and discover that his childhood was in fact just this- a lie.

If foundation of whom he was, everything he'd ever done was false, then what did it make him?

Feeling considerably fuller and less dehydrated, he lent against the wall and closed his eyes. Fighting the will to fall asleep because he did not want to look vulnerable when k-unit returned, he tried to think about his karate lessons when he was younger; when learning to fight had been purely for fun. Suddenly he found himself trapped in a memory; sweet and naïve childhood. He smiled.

And before he knew it, he fell into a light slumber.

_-Time Jump half an hour-_

K-unit were dragged back to their cell roughly, considerably more battered and mentally tired than before. Carelessly, the ugly men enforcing their half walk threw them into the room, dog-piled on top of each other awkwardly. The door was locked as they untangled the bloody mess, and checked their own injuries.

Wolf was sporting sincerely painful bruises on his stomach, where he had been brutally and repeatedly punched. His head hurt, but he considered that the least of his worries in his concern for his team.

Eagle's cut on his cheek stung; they had chosen to punch him there. The wound had re-opened, bleeding sluggishly,the taste in his mouth a metallic, disgusting thing. He knew from touch that the bottom right half of his face was covered in dried blood. It surrounded his nose and the rancid smell blocked out everything else.

Fox still had a headache from the previous blow to the head days earlier, but now he also suffered a dislocated shoulder; it felt like it was on fire, seemingly tormenting his entire body, making his head swim.

For an unknown reason, maybe just a luck coincidence, Snake was best off out of all of them; he'd only taken a few blows to his stomach and small cuts- it could have been a lot worse than it was. Part of him wondered if it was because he was a medic that had been spared slightly; Scorpia not wanting to have to provide medical care so that they did not die too soon.

Unfortunately for Fox, he had to have landed under all of his team. He groaned in a disguised scream and winced, retreating to the corner on his pain and sliding down to the ground.

Snake rushed over to him, moved Fox's hand from his own shoulder and observed, poking it slightly and frowning when Fox gasped in pain. Snake cursed. "Your shoulder needs to be fixed, which is easy, but it will hurt like hell." Snake told the man.

"Just do it." He grunted in his agony.

"Right. Chances are you will pass out from the pain of it, because you were already in a moderately bad condition before this, so don't be embarrassed and act like a twit to hide your pain." Snake instructed; his voice in mock sarcasm. Fox gave a small, tired grin.

"Eagle, restrain his legs, Wolf, grab his left side so he doesn't move too much." The medic once again instructed.

Eagle and Wolf both gave Fox an apologetic smile as they restrained their teammate.

Fox watched in apprehension, and in pain, as Wolf and Eagle propped him into the correct position under medic's orders, then as Snake began to twist his arm. It hurt, God, it hurt so much. Wolf was talking to him, he could tell through the overriding waves of pain, but he couldn't concentrate on his voice. Snake was repeating the pain over and over again; he was hurting him more. Why was he doing that, causing him more pain?

Through the haze, Fox couldn't recognise that Snake was trying to help him, therefore he began to try and struggle, to escape their grasps. But Wolf and Eagle held strong in their positions, keeping him immobile whilst Snake continued the procedure, gritting his teeth.

One final push and Snake felt the shoulder fit back into its place, hearing Fox groan from the massive flare of pain. His face went white as a sheet, on the verge of passing out, but restrained from it as he felt the relief from having his shoulder relocated.

"Sorry buddy," Snake apologised, feeling bad for causing his teammate pain. He knew it was necessary, and he had done it so many times before, once even with Eagle, but it didn't stop his human conscience from feeling guilty.

After propping Fox up against a wall in a more comfortable position, they went over to Cub. He seemed to be fast asleep, and not disturbed at all by the noise. One look at the tray in the corner suggested that the teen had in fact woken up, eaten and drunk whilst they were gone, but now showed no signs of awakening.

"Let him rest," Wolf gruffly said, surprising his teammate. Snake was struck that Wolf had outwardly shown his consideration for the boy; it wasn't like him to do that. But situations like these changed everything.

"Hey look! There's water over here, and some strips of cloth! How did we miss that?!" Eagle exclaimed, loudly and confused.

Snake and Wolf openly laughed at Eagle's shocked faced for not noticing this.

"Actually Eagle, we all knew when the tray was first delivered, but you were obviously occupied at the time," Wolf grinned, knowing that Snake would continue.

"And now that you've pointed it out, well, we could put them to use couldn't we," Snake grinned a Cheshire cat grin, quickly running over the injuries of his team.

Eagle shook his head fiercely, realising the implications. He was the sort of man who did not like people fussing over his injuries and weaknesses. "Yes, Wolf's got a nasty cut on his arm there, you should check it out!" Eagle exclaimed, edging his way backwards with a nervous smile on his face.

"Right Wolf. Eagle first…."

Eagle groaned. Snake and Wolf smiled. It felt like old times regardless of their current status. And for that second, hope hung in the cold air, hope that they were meant to survive.

Unknown to the rest of the unit, Alex had actually awoken when they had been chucked in. He had listened intently as they collaborated to fix Fox's shoulder; he'd actually winced in sympathy for the man, but luckily the Unit had been too busy to catch it. Wolf's small show of outright care had struck him as out of character, but he had tried to think nothing more of it.

And when he had heard Eagle's exclamation of surprise, then his groan when he had been messed with by Snake and Wolf, he took had almost chuckled with them, because their bantering and teasing sounded so light, so easy, even in the heavy, dark situation.

He too felt the hope in the air.

**Thanks for reading, don't forget to Read and Review. Hope you enjoyed, until next time :D**


	5. Chapter 5

_**I know, I know, it's been forever since I last updated this. Well, at least it seems that way. Life and school got in the way, as it usually does. Hope you like it anyways, and don't forget to review, they're always helpful!**_

_**Special thanks to my Beta; Fate's Silver Chain**_

* * *

><p><strong>3rd Person POV<strong>

Quietly, Ash cracked his knuckles under the table in anticipation.

The man sat at a large, oval-shaped table with 7 other men and women, all highly influential, powerful, and very rich. As basic description of course; they were all ruthless killers. Their ages ranged from the youngest at just 25, to the oldest at 69.

They made up the board of Scorpia. Not the near dead Scorpia, rotting in cells or burned to the ground; the new Scorpia, a rising undercurrent, waiting for the right time to pounce. With new resources, new board members and ungraspable power; Scorpia were now unstoppable.

Aside from Drug Cartels and all sales of the black market, they were yet to undertake any mission- not with one certain person in their way. Once he was eradicated, Scorpia were ready, more so than ever, to start their next mission. One to have the world in the palms of their hands.

There was a stiff silence in the plain, grey room, as the 7 members of the board and Ash sat, each occupied and pointedly not communicating in any way. No one trusted each other; no one would refrain from killing anyone. Maybe apart from the Director.

The man was yet to appear, but when he did the meeting would begin.

5 minutes later found Ash sitting, black straight, uncomfortable to the point of sweating slightly, though no noticeably. He was tensed to the point of not being able to move, but his life had taught him to always maintain his blank expression for the sake of his life; his face betrayed nothing.

"Greetings everybody. This is certainly no social chat, so we should directly get down to the matter of this meeting. Miss Diddario, I understand you are head of the operation in the black market…" he said, leading into a controlled near-conversation with the Woman.

Ash sat, attempting to listen intently to the conversations. He needed to know these things, for his own benefit more than any other sole purpose.

"Mr Howell, care to deliver a status report on the condition of operation Rider?" The director asked him, his voice antagonizing in his ears. Said man was dressed expensively in a black silk suit and tie, with a pair of darkly tinted Armani shades to complete the James Bond look he seemed to be aiming for. His toned skin suggested that he was once white, English in fact, but however strong his accent was, a well-travelled, spy trained man such as Ash could easily pick up the hints and tones of foreign accents, no doubt attained from his time abroad. He had no doubt that if need be, the Director could easily switch his accent to one that benefited him in the situation.

"Sir," he took a deep breath, "the operation has begun and has taken a strong step forward in progress. We will soon be increasing the force and continuing in the annihilation of Rider." Ash reported, maintaining a monotone pitch but desperately trying to supply the respect he knew he needed to stay alive. There was no way he planned to be executed before he had gotten his revenge; nor did he want to die a particularly painful death, the exact sort that Scorpia supplied.

"Glad to hear it ASH. Would you like to tell the board your precise progress report?" the mysterious man asked, his mouth turned into a small, surprising honest smile.

Ash gulped. "We asked them if they knew the codes, which of course we already know; just for the test to see how easily they would be to give in. we tried torture for the codes to see if they would hold up with them. Obviously they don't know, neither did they crack and tell us crap. I was also testing their durability, but of course I don't wanna stretch it for their coming time…they all seem capable under any torture." ASH finished there. All the people round the table knew of the coming plan, of course they did.

And stage two was about to begin.

_(Meanwhile)_

_"Right. Eagle first…."_

_Eagle groaned. Snake and Wolf smiled. It was like old times, and for that second, hope hung in the air that they were meant to survive._

_Unknown to the rest of the unit, Alex had actually awoken when they had been chucked in. Instead of being normal and showing he was awake, he was keen to hear what they were doing. He had winced from the pop of Fox's shoulder being clicked back into place, and he was really surprised by the deepness of Wolf's words, despite that they probably wouldn't be considered deep for any other person on the planet._

_And when he had heard Eagle groan from being first chosen to have his wounds cleaned, he wanted to smile because it sounded so light for their heavy, and dark, situation._

_He too felt the hope in the air._

After Eagle, Snake had cleaned the other two men's wounds; just the cuts and scratches and gashes really. It wasn't like he had paracetamol and a needle and thread and disinfectant.

Next he had to move onto Cub, who seemed to be on that verge from consciousness and unconsciousness; the knife edge. But not that serious, obviously. However bad he looked, he knew that Cub was strong. Things change though.

"Cub?" Snake called out cautiously, keeping a reasonable distance. The last thing they wanted was to disturb him close up in his sleep, for last time it hadn't benefited him in any way.

Said boy shifted slightly, his eyelids fluttering; then still.

"Cub, wake up bud, I've gotta clean your wounds." Snake said; a hint of amusement in his voice. All members of the unit were watching in amusement for they knew that he was awake.

Cub squinted his eyes ever so slightly, but it was enough for Snake.

"Cub we can do this your way or my way, but I am cleaning those wounds. I know you're not a fan of anything medical, but even if we have to we will pin you down for this meaningless task." Snake threatened, despite the lightest of tones he used.

Alex opened his eyes warily and looked over to the smiling medic, annoyance on his face. "Fine then," he relented, and Snake came and crouched next to him, cloth in hand and jug in tow.

"Where to begin?" Snake muttered as he inspected the overwhelming injuries on the small body. The cuts and bruises were just that; cuts and bruises. A little boy that attended primary would have cuts and bruises from chase in the playground and falling off the monkey bars;if only Cub had got them that way. If only the cuts didn't litter his body like he'd walked through a jungle of roses. After consideration, the medic decided that his wrists were the best place to start, before he started on his bullet wound.

"No." Cub exclaimed suddenly, backing away from the now alarmed man. Alex was usually good at just suffering through things like this in silence.

"Cub…" Snake said warningly.

"No way Snake. I'll do it myself." Cub replied stiffly, continuing to back away until his back slammed into the corner wall, forcing himself to supress the wince from the collision, ignoring thepain it caused on top of what he was already experiencing. It just wasn't his day. Then again, when was it?

"Cub, you cannot do it yourself. Just let me." Snake instructed. He understood perfectly well why Cub wouldn't let him clean that particular wound, but that didn't stop him from knowing it was better for him, the fully trained medic, to check the wound; instead of the under-age spy.

"It doesn't need it, it's completely fine. " He growled, his right hand protectively resting on his left shoulder, effectively blocking the scar from Snake.

"You don't know that, you're not a medic. Just let me check it Cub. Trust me," Snake coaxed persuasively.

"No. it doesn't need it, it's absolutely fine; I can feel it." Alex argued; his voice on the very brink of breaking.

"Cub..." Snake sighed, not sure what to say.

Wolf and Fox watched the conversation with concern in their eyes. Eagle snoozed lightly in the corner; with everything going on, his mind just couldn't settle whilst they continued on overdrive. Sleep seemed an impossibility.

Wolf was highly concerned that Cub wouldn't let Snake even look at his bullet scar. Was Cub reverting back to his state so many months before, where he wouldn't even talk to them? He would definitely have a see a councillor after this, even if they had to drag him there themselves. Hell, they all would.

"Cub, you've got to let him check it, and you know it. He's not going to hurt you, he's your friend and you know you can trust him." Wolf tried to reason, his voice considerably light considering his normally harsher outer nature.

"Just don't, please." Cub pleaded. Snake was shocked, as was Wolf, but they hid it well. Cub never ever pleaded; pride sat in the way of that, though he had never needed to before, not really. But when he said those words, he did sound like a scared little child, scared and alone.

"Cub?" Snake, unsure, asked as he backed away from the now trembling child. Yes; he was a child. Even in the real world, not just the world he lived and didn't belong to. One of Deception, and lies, and assassination, and everything that was shielded from the common world; they didn't see any of this. They shouldn't see any of it.

Alex felt like a cornered animal. Had Snake not seen his flinch every time physical contact was made, the expressions he displayed when a wound was touched? No of course he hadn't. He wasn't trained to read the near-expressionless masks of spies; no one but maybe some spies could read that. Especially the mask of the teenage spy whose emotions were different to all the rest.

He couldn't take it anymore, couldn't maintain himself; why were the walls moving? Why was k-unit shouting at him? Everything was scaring him now, for real. The walls, they were coming towards him….why were K-unit not panicking at the serious threat of being squished alive? Before, Alex had never truly been scared, but now, he felt terror. What was happening to him?

His thoughts tumbled like a rollercoaster, throwing his terrified state around like a loose passenger.

Snake was simply confused, as was Wolf, Fox and even Eagle now. From the corner, Cub quivered and began to sweat, eyes darting round the room, petrified. Scared enough to even display emotion- a rarity. But occasionally his eyes would lock with theirs and the brown orbs would scream at them, asking them why they were just sitting, watching. What were they missing?

Snake assessed Alex. He was displaying all the signs of a mental issue, as he was showing no physical problems, the injuries not quite counting at that point. Wolf looked as if he was about to say something, but Snake shot him a hard look and with a shake of his head, silenced his leader, finger on his lips. Wolf got the message; Keep Your Mouth Closed.

"Alex. Calm down. Look at me," Snake said with authority, but also oozing the calmness that most needed in a time a crisis. A rock. Slowly, he put down the cloth and held his arms up as a sign of surrender.

With a sense of desperation, Alex tried to look at Snake properly, focus on the calming waves in his voice and use them to his advantage, but he couldn't. Like a broken machine, he couldn't work. The walls just kept on coming closer and closer.

But confusion also rippled through his mind; why wasn't he dead by now? However fast the walls were coming in, they weren't touching him. It made no sense, but a voice at the back of his head told him that it didn't matter. It seemed to only be getting hotter and hotter in the room, like someone had decided to kick up the thermostat; he felt so sick, nauseous like he was sea sick, though he never had been.

Alex's heartbeat pounded rhythmically in his hears, increasingly so till it drowned every other sound out. Louder and louder; Snake's voice had even abandoned him, the voice that had cleared his mind for that short period of time. Alex Rider knew that he was losing control.

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><p><strong><em>Thanks for reading, until next time! Complicated-Little-Jellie<em>**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Please Ignore Rant: Stupid Annoying fan fiction! Love this website but seriously, I wrote at least 500 Authors note here and then it decided to delete it all for no reason what's so ever. So yes. I am insulting fan fiction. Damn me. Ah crap.**_

_**So, Yeah, I know, I haven't update in forever. I can't really apologise, because everything in my life is set in fast forward right now. I do know that you dedicated readers deserved an update of any kind, even if it's short and rather dismal like mine. It may be ridiculously short in comparison to my other chapters, but this it the first time that I've rewritten a chapter at least 6 times before I thought I had it right- Missed 3 hours of sleep and everything! Fell asleep in maths, but it's maths, so that's okay. Sort of. Short chapters often mean that something big is happening; a game changer. I even gave you guys a little cliffhanger! Whoop whoop. And just quickly, for any readers from the first version of this story, this is the last chapter that's rewritten of the old version; chapter 7 onwards is different from the old plot completely. It actually makes sense this time (I hope...)...**_

_**Yeah, so, Warning: contains swearing **_

_**Special thanks to Fate's Silver Chain; couldn't write a story without them!**_

_**Enjoy and Review! **_

The teen had suffered a considerably serious panic attack, or maybe he still was. Snake watched intently; scrutinizingas something flickered across Alex's sweaty face- a look that could almost be classed as contentment. But his true mortified state of his mind was reflected in his eyes.

The medic was trained for the field, for Special Forces. Obviously he knew what to do in the event of a panic attack, but not like this. In the field the causes of these were friends dying, or open space, or the sound of bullets; not a small room with the threat and torture and death over head. Especially not for a teenager.

With speed but knowing not to overlook anything, he mapped what he needed to do. Talk the person- he was unresponsive; the glaze of the eyes and the lack of response proved that. Remove the source of danger- if he was correct…well they couldn't get out of the room so that was incredibly unlikely.

Whilst continuing to try and visually check vitals, he spoke in a clear voice and talked through breathing exercises with the boy, even if he wasn't doing anything. Once all the steps had been taken, he just continued. What more could he actually do?

Whatever was going on inside his head was what he thought was reality. Trying to do anything physical such as moving the underage spy could cause him to react violently; Snake could be harmed, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Not in this situation.

"Alex. Listen to me." He tried to no success- the young teen eyes were flittering from wall to wall, clearly not hearing what he could say.

"Snake, what's going on?" Eagle panicked.

"Panic attack, and rather severe from what I can tell. I need to cool him down with the cloth but I'm not sure how close I can get to him without him panicking and thrashing out. Whatever is making him scared inside his head seems real to him, so we don't know what he's seeing now." He was rushing his explanation to his teammates, who had never come across anyone having a panic attack this severe before. The thought of a panic attack had crossed their minds but they didn't think Cub of all people would have this. Cub didn't panic.

"From the way he's looking at all the walls, I also think he's claustrophobic as well. It may even be the root trigger for the attack," Snake spoke, an edge of anxiety in his voice. He didn't quite know what to do, and he didn't like that fact.

Before any of them had a minute to consider what to do, the door swung open, casting light into the dimly lit cell. The man with the curly hair and the recognisable lean build stood in the doorway, face hidden in the shadows casted from the two burly figures behind him.

He was back.

Of course he had to be back.

"Gentlemen, Alex,"

The statement was spoken with a tone of happiness, wronged but happy, his walk a casual stride, cocky even. Once the over-toned men were out of the way of the beam of fake light, the rays shone into the room, revealing the teenager huddled in the corner.

Ash's eyes widened in disbelief for a brief moment before it was covered by the shield of mocking, an overshadow of coldness.

"What's going on here?" he asked; disinterested, shielding an undertone something more. Alerted by this, Snake perked to what the man was saying. He knew him well; in the way he hadn't changed, he was so much the man he knew. It was Ash's concern that alerted him.

When no one answered, Ash grew angry, like he expected respect he hadn't earned. "If you don't tell me I will kick the little shit in the ribs, alright?" he said venomously, taking a step closer to the quivering teen, who in turn watched, eyes past reason.

"Panic Attack. We can't get near him without him panicking and causing worse damage." Snake explained hastily.

Ash's face was stony.

"Well that truly is devastating, but we've got business to attend to, and no time for this shit." He sarcastically told them.

K-unit exchanged worried glances; what were they supposed to do? They couldn't do anything until Alex was out of the room, where he could then calm down. Outside would be best. They needed time.

Apparently Ash didn't have much patience, as if he ever did, because he went over to the quivering Alex, hand held high. They didn't realise what he was about to do until it was too late. Their eyes widened and liked a rehearsed show; they shouted 'No!'

But Ash slapped Alex round the face. Not gently, no not at all.

The force of the slap sent Alex's head colliding forcefully with the wall, enough to tear the skin slightly and draw blood. Traumatised, his head to his chest lifelessly, entire body slumped from the strained position it once held. Sweat and blood combined, a river flowing down his scarred chest. His eye lids were closed.

"You Pratt! What did you do that for?" Wolf screamed at him.

Breathing heavily, Ash turned round, a murderous look on his face; an expression was one of his true colours; hatred, anger, inhumanity.

With a kick worthy of a footballer, he swung his boot into Wolf's injured ribs, teeth gritted, "Don't talk to me like that. I'm in control here. You're my prisoners and I am in control of you."

Down on the floor, Wolf struggled for breath, having already suffered serious abdominal bruising, the new pain fired up the others that he had kicked to the back of his mind. It _hurt._

"Learn from that, fuck head" Ash once again growled, spitting on Wolf and stalking out the room. As he walked, he said something quietly to the guards, who nodded, before they exited the room and slammed the door shut.

Snake heard the bolts slide into place, and a deep chill ran through his spine.

Wolf was a man of pride; being spat on like dirt was so below him that he would've killed Ash in anger,despite the need to strangle him anyway, but the leader was in too much pain to try and move. Not to mention that attempting would kill him or one of his unit members.

Everyone seemed to be frozen, until Fox jumped up, staring Eagle and Snake.

"Right. Snake, check Wolf is alright. Eagle, help me lay out Cub so he'll be able to breath properly and so we can be right next to him when he wakes up." Fox commanded, his tone of that demanded order and attention like a true leader.

SAS were meant to follow orders, trained to; it was drilled into them from the second they signed up for the forces. The silence last mere seconds before the other two decided not to question Fox, in favour of doing exactly what they had been told.

Snake knew perfectly well that Wolf thought highly of pride and dignity, his own in particular, so he had a strong dislike for medical examinations. It didn't mean he didn't like his medic friend and fellow soldier, even if the death-glare was a giveaway of near-hatred.

So Snake ignored Wolf's look and tried to speak reassuringly to his leader, avoiding Wolf believing it was any insult to his dignity, whilst he manoeuvred him onto his back and lifted his shirt gently, feeling along his lower abdomen and trying to think professionally about the situation.

None of this meant that it had been easy. After a long argument on Wolf removing his hand, and then another discussion on Wolf turning onto his back. That was before allowing him to lift his shirt to even see his abdomen. Snake knew Wolf was the world's worst patient, and he just had to have him on the ground the one time that they were trapped in a cell with a mad man.

Meanwhile, Eagle gently lifted Cub into his arms. The young teen was incredibly light, ridiculously so, and much lighter than the last time Eagle had had to lift him because he was unconscious, **which** wasn't an awful long time ago.

One hit on the head was enough to knock someone unconscious, yes, but Eagle had jolted Cub slightly and received no sign of any reaction, not even the flutter of an eyelid. Brow creased in worry, he gently laid Cub on the cold stone floor, making his position as comfortable as possible, whilst knowing it probably wouldn't make much of a difference at all.

Fox performed some minor medical examinations that Snake had once showed him, having once taken an interest in medicine before deciding that he was better at language and communications. Eagle knew a little medical training, but he still felt clueless and out of his head.

Suddenly, Eagle felt a bit light headed. It wasn't like him to get like this in any situation, so confused, he sniffed. The foul smell meeting his senses was far from pleasant. Smoke poured into the cell through what seemed like the wall, but must have been vents. He shouted a warning to the others and covered his mouth and nose with his shirt. With a quick glance, Eagle reached out to pull Cub's top up as well, but paused when he began to wheeze.

His warnings were too late.

Fox collapsed in front of him, and he heard Snake do the same moments later. Seconds ticked by before he himself was lying on the floor, coughing, choking, eyes stinging.

Faintly he saw the door open, light cascading into the room bringing the sound of footsteps before darkness drew a curtain over his awareness.

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><p><em><strong>Adios! You know you want to review...;) No Pressure, I swear :D <strong>_


	7. Chapter 7

**_So hi everybody. I've been able to write another chapter of this story, and may I pre-warn you it's not very action filled. Trust me, it's a climax to some pretty intense fight scenes. (Well, I hope they'll reach their potential) _**

**_Till next time, Jellie _**

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><p><em>Suddenly, Eagle felt a bit light headed. It wasn't like him to get like this in any situation, so confused, he sniffed. The foul smell meeting his senses was far from pleasant. Smoke poured into the cell through what seemed like the wall, but must have been vents. He shouted a warning to the others a covered his mouth and nose with his shirt, wanting to cover Alex's but knowing then he couldn't breathe.<em>

_But his warnings were too late._

_Fox collapsed in front of him, and he heard Snake do the same moments later. Seconds ticked by before he himself was lying on the floor, coughing, choking, and eyes stinging._

_Faintly he saw the door open, light cascading into the room bringing the sound of footsteps before darkness drew a curtain over his awareness._

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><p>The first feeling, Alex noted, was that his head was pounding like a base speaker. Daring not to open his eyes, just to avoid further pain, he screamed in his mind. Screamed at MI6. Screamed at Ash. Screamed. The anger coursing his veins was enough to make him consider that killing was the right option. Who deserved to live when all they did was torture others to the point of insanity?<p>

It was a rare event for him to ever lose control. But here he was, surely losing his mind. Inside his head the past…what? Week? Month? It felt like an eternity. The past eternity struck the inner, vulnerable side of his existence. Right there, right then, lonelier than ever, Alex knew that it would never stop.

At first the burning sensation in his wrists and legs was barely noticeable in his numb state, but it gradually grew. It was then he realised he was upright, and tied to a hard chair via legs and arms. The next question was why he could barely feel it before. His throat was rather dry…and he could barely hear a thing; they had drugged him. It wasn't via ingestion, nor injection because he was sure that, or at least he hoped that, he would have felt it. Therefore they must have gassed them.

But it didn't really explain why the entire right side of his face felt sore and bruised, like after a fight. His teeth were all there, but the overwhelming metallic taste of blood was all he could taste. Maybe these were all side effects of whatever gas they had used, for it did not usually take him this long to come round and realise what had happened to him. Nor did he usually lose control like he had before, when he first awoke.

The teen just wanted to curl up in frustration.

Wolf opened his eyes. The room was brightly lit, and though it stung, he surveyed the room. It was quite large with breeze block walls, and though seemingly no opening, there was a cold draft. His entire body felt crappy; his head felt like his was the one that was smashed against a wall. Cub! The boy was slumped against a chair, 2 chairs away from him, centrepiece to the gathering of chairs. There was blood around his hairline and a horrid bruise was forming purple on his cheek. However out of place it looked on a child, the bruise just seemed to look even worse on Cub. Maybe it was because of the attachment the unit had formed with him.

Like a mother on a child, Wolf visually examined the rest of his unit, all seemingly still unconscious. Like in training, he watched each one for at least one minute, checking for equal breathing mainly. He then checked again. And again. The man was not a mother hen, nor the sort of person to not be reassured by their judgements, but right now, he couldn't bear to ever lose his unit. Not ever. They were all his life added up to, including his career. Losing even one of them would mean losing a large chunk of himself.

Being the intelligent man he was, he knew that they hadn't just been gassed and bought here for no reason. It would have taken Scorpia resources and time and effort that wasn't worth if it there was no reason. For all he knew, they could be in a different country right now.

Forcefully, he distracted himself from looking at his unit. Instead, he opted for looking at each block of the wall in great detail. What he saw had him ever so slightly more worried than he had previously been. Slightly being an understatement. In front of the centre of the chairs they all sat in, about 5 metres away, were two horse tie rings. But they were bigger. Like for chains.

Suddenly, he had a very queasy feeling about what they were about to go through. Wolf was sure that they'd be able to get through it, though he knew that Eagle would struggle. Out of the four of them, he had always openly cared more. But his main concern was Cub.

Would this be his breaking point?

Thoughts were interrupted as the sound of panicked breathing filled the air, his head snapping to the attention of whom it came from. Snake?

The medic of his unit paced through problems slowly and patiently, but worked efficiently enough to get the job done, and done well. Snake was the sort of level headed man that broke up fights and calmed other people down; he just knew what words to say.

Unlike Wolf, who was right now speechless. His friends face was scrunched and red, seeming to be in some sort of pain. Help danced the tip of Wolf's tongue but he knew not what words to say. Though a mere 30cm from him, he could do nothing but sit helplessly, shouting his name- though he knew it would not help.

The source of this nightmare could only be one thing and one thing only. Ash. It was in that moment, as his teammate shouted for his life, trapped in sleep, and Alex hung in his chair, pale and bruise and frail looking, that Wolf knew.

He had to get his unit out of there. MI6 weren't coming, nor were the SAS. As a leader, it was his job to get everyone out alive. And get everyone out alive he would.

But then a bang echoed throughout the room, the sound of a door slamming open, closely followed by the sound of a woman, screaming and probably crying. It sounded like somebody was dragging her towards them. Wolf gulped.

It had been Snake's shouting to stir Alex, and he sat there, listening to Wolf shout at the medic in vain. He knew there was nothing he could have done to help; he only would have made Wolf more distracted and that certainly would benefit no one. Sitting there alone, blocking out the rest of the room, he thought.

The bang had made him jump. But the screaming was what triggered his next thoughts: one, he was going to get out there. And two, Ash was going to pay for the pain he had caused so many. But mainly the life ruining pain he had cursed Alex with. For that, he was going to lose.

It was the scream of a person he knew like the back of his hand. Facing fate, Alex opened his eyes and watched as two burly men dragged her across the room. It pained him to do so. She met his eyes as they tied the chains that bound her wrists to the ties in the walls, the brilliant green shining with tears, pleading with him. The fact that he could do nothing was like somebody driving a tank over his heart. Fighting his own mind was like trying to solve a crossword and realising that there was no right answer. Ash was not going to make this pleasant for him. Begging with him would give him pleasure, because that was exactly what he wanted. Alex wasn't going to give him that.

The screaming had been enough to awaken Snake, who sat breathing heavily and trying to blink the sweat out of his eyes, and the tears. The scenes of the nightmare were stabbing at his eyelids the second he blinked: dark and twisted images. It was the happy memories of the past, he realised that were causing him this pain. Every single flash was of a happy memory of Ash and him and John, before everything cracked and they got on with their lives. But it turned to Ash stabbing John. Shooting John. Strangling John. His subconscious mind had caused this, but the near psychological torture of Ash didn't help either, he bet.

Fox watched from Wolf, to Snake, to Eagle, to Cub, to the woman, to Ash, and then all over again. For the first time in over 6 years, Fox saw Wolf on breaking point. His eyes seemed dulled, like someone had stubbed out the fire and determination that usually danced. Neck and back slumped, he looked almost…vulnerable. Before now, it had never ever been a word associated with Wolf.

Alex's eyes were connected in a seemingly unbreakable link with the woman in chains. Though his face was blank, he sat upright in an alert and defensive position, and his eyes, well they were sparkling. Not positively, not with tears. They just looked alive. Fox knew that Alex was feeling a great mix of emotion; pain, fear, hurt, anger…so much more. He was also completely sure that Alex knew the woman. And knew her well. This meant that their situation has just got 100 times worse.

#ignoremejustalinebreak#ignoremejustalinebreak#ignoremejustalinebreak#

Jack cried.

She had never cried so much in her life, never been so very terrified of one human being. He'd barely hurt her, and yet, something in the deep depths of his eyes was so twisted and cruel that she feared her life.

It seemed strange really that; once upon-a-7 years ago she'd considered taking up on his offer of going on a date together…and here they were now. Maybe that was the reason she was tied to the wall by chains, but somehow the more obvious answer seemed a lot more likely. Alex's unit and the teen himself were tied not far in front of her. They were all worn and dirty, bruised and bloody. Alex looked the worse out of them all, which just made her blood boil. But the saddest thing about everything before her was that their faces all shared similar expressions- it let her know what the experts thought of the situation. It made her sick to her stomach.

If she had just left Alex when she had first planned too and gone back to America, she wouldn't be there, right in that second, lining up to die. Part of her felt angry at the boy, but he was just that; a boy. The fear crushed the anger and new found tears laced her cheeks.

Everything here was his fault. Completely. But in the end, it wasn't his fault, not now, not ever. He could not be blamed for the things he had done and the people whom of which he had peed off. She supposed it rooted from his father, but also Ian. Alex was innocent.

Or at least, that was what she was going to tell herself. If her end came: no, _when_ her end came.

Jack was broken like a shard of shattered glass. Alex was shocked to see her there, but a defeated part of his consciousness knew that Ash would play his dirtiest card possible. From the second he walked out the door to Brecon Beacons and let her get on with her life, he knew she'd be a liability, because MI6 were sloppy like that. But he had promised that he would leave her alone, and a promise was a promise. He figured she'd been smart and gotten a new identity or something. Maybe she had and they found her anyway.

Defeat hung in the room like the chemicals of a smoker's lung, dragging any shred of hops with it and replacing it with dark and gloomy despair. Daring not to break eye contact with Jack, Alex searched deep, in his mind, and like a wireless connection in her mind as well, he dug for hope. For escape.

And it came to him. The first beams of rising sun after an arctic winter, an idea shone in the depths of his bruised mind.

He, and K-unit, and the sheer determination of their nuclear shelled leader, were going to escape. But the ever-flowering thoughts of pessimism showed its twisted truth.

They would escape.

But would Jack?

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><p><strong><em>Don't forget to review! <em>**


	8. Chapter 8

_**First off, I'd like to thank all my awesome reviewers for reviewing :D I'm so happy that people care enough about this story to review, so yeah, thank you again. **_

_**Second, I'd like to say; enjoy the chapter, and a massive thanks to my awesome and very optimistic beta Fate's Silver Chain, whose stories are well worth checking out :D **_

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><p><em>Defeat hung in the room like the chemicals of a smoker's lung, dragging any shred of hope with it and replacing it with a dark and gloomy despair. Daring not to break eye contact with Jack, Alex searched deep, in his mind, and like a wireless connection in her mind as well, he dug for hope. For escape.<em>

_And it came to him. The first beams of rising sun after an arctic winter, an idea shone in the depths of his bruised mind._

_He, and K-unit, and the sheer determination of their nuclear shelled leader, were going to escape. But the ever-flowering thoughts of pessimism showed its twisted truth._

_They would escape._

_But would Jack?_

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><p>Watching as the glistening knife once again sliced into her pale skin, Alex had to fight down the sickly bile building up in the back of his throat. Pleading and screaming would do nothing but satisfy Ash and give him even more incentive to carry on, so in his own silence he sat. The teen could see that K-unit too were deeply tortured by what was happening before their eyes; civilians, innocent women and children, were somethingthey'd sworn to protect when joining the military. Truly, the physical torture of one was the darkest, cruellest method of psychological torture on another.<p>

The floor was quickly flooding withvelvet red. At first, it was all Alex could look at because looking into Jack's eyes was causing his stomach to churn, and his heart to break. He then moved on to study the walls, but the first of many splatters of blood began to paint the grey walls as well, and that too was just something he could not handle. It was gradual, building up and allowing his mind to imagine the pain she was in.

He could hear Jack's cries and the sound of Ash's voice, and yet everything around him felt muddled. And he was not prepared to look at k-unit, just in case there was even a shadow of pity in their eyes. Though none of them knew her, he could sense the aura of guilt and anger emanating like a glow stick in a dark room.

A quick glance in the knife bearer's direction told him a lot more than he'd previously thought. Her face was virtually uncut, with the exception of bruises and scrapes, whilst her cheeks shone with the wetness of tears. The sleeves of her top had been cut away so it now looked like she was wearing a waistcoat, and her arms were all sliced. He'd obviously taken time on them with the small blade with which he had cut, as the wounds were intricate and planned. They were shaped in rings of red that went all the way down her arms like scales. The once tanned skin wasnow pale from bothyears of UK weather and the loss of blood in those limbs. Her blood.

"I could stop Alex…you know what I want."

Alex bit his own tongue in his haste to reply, whilst trying to repress the steaming anger and hatred that wanted nothing more than to explode. But he kept his voice as calm and collected as he could make it. Whatever he decided had to benefit the majority of people in the room, all the good people. "I won't beg on the floor for you Ash." He replied, daring to look the man dead in the eye without actually seeing. He couldn't afford to show emotion, should there be any.

"It's so simple Alex. Your pride gets in the way of the lives of your friends." The way his voice mulled like he was generally caring, but it provoked Alex.

"You think I wouldn't get down on my knees and beg if it meant that I could save my friends? I only remain as I am because I know very well that you have no intention of letting us go because of one thing." Alex said bitterly. "You want nothing more than to cause the most pain imaginable. Therefore it wouldn't do me any good." He continued. He wouldn't mention how he would never ever give him the satisfaction.

The man's tut at his responsewas enough tobring Alex back to the reality of murder. "Ah Alex, this is why I will be your end. And the end of your dear female friend."

Which once again bought the attention of the room back to Jack. She hung by her chains, hair limp and bloody like the rest of her body; it seemed she had lost the will to do nothing more than wait for death in a flood of tears. She'd already accepted that she was going to die, but maybe she knew that from the moment Alex arrived back from his first mission. Maybe she knew that staying with him would lead to her death in the hands of a hater. And yet she had stayed. Perhaps that was a definition for unconditional love.

A new glint sparked in Ash's eye, and he grabbed the knife eagerly. The mad man yanked her hand from where it had previously hung limp, and held out her thumb with the knife poised on the skin, ready to cut. "Do you want me to cut her thumb off Alex? Is that the pain that you want your precious housekeeper to endure?"

"What do you want me to tell you Ash?" he asked, exasperated and desperate.

"You're catching on, young Alex. I want information about MI6; their operations, management, names, locations, anything that would make you a traitor." He told him. Alex was less than enthusiastic to hear this, because he knew what it would make him: worse than a traitor. Was Jack worth it? A million times yes. But he had to consider the entire population of the United Kingdom, and the safety of the millions of people.

"And you'd save Jack?" he asked doubtfully, torn.

_**Wolf POV**_

All four of us sat in silence, because that was what we were supposed to do. It was a technique from RTI; showing weakness by openly caring when another was in pain would make the situation a lot worse for everybody, themselves included. But I was angry at Ash for planting the idea in Alex's mind that we could be saved at the expense of MI6 and the SAS, because I knew as did everyone else in the room that he despised MI6 more than anything else, apart from perhaps Ash himself. I had no doubt that Alex knew a lot about what Ash wanted to know, and a leak on that scale would be catastrophic for the safety of the country.

"Yes Alex, it's that easy. Your friends would be saved."

"But not me?"

Was Cub really thinking of himself? Frowning, I looked to Fox to reassure myself that what I thought was true. His face looked fearful, like he was one step ahead of the situation. Out of the loop, I waited in silence as I twisted my hands behind my back.

"Ah, young Alex," he laughed. It sickened me. "How could I let you go, after all it took me to get you where I wanted you?"

It was then when I caught on; he was reassuring himself that as long as we were safe, Ash would no longer bother us. It was his intention to stay behind. Instantly I felt guilty at my first reaction, but I was then panicked by the fact that Alex knew he would be left behind. Not that I planned to leave him here alone.

"No, of course not…" Alex murmured. It took everything I had to stop myself from shouting out at Ash, to break free from the rope binding me and shake him by the shoulders. Shake sense into him about his own self-preservation. Or lack of it.

Ash held the blade to the woman's throat. Jack; that was her name, I'm sure. At camp, Alex hadn't really talked about her much- Fox told me he wanted to keep her separate from the deceptive world that we lived in. The long knife in his hands was placed close enough to draw a line of red on her throat where it pierced the skin. Her green eyes were wide as she looked down as far as she could, watching the knife in fear.

"No!" Alex shouted. Screamed almost. Jack was crying. I looked at the once strong face of our youngest teammate, and the saw the deepest and most desolate sadness. He looked like he had lost the battle, like it had already started.

"Just tell me Alex. It's all you have to do." Ash coaxed.

"Alex, please. Please Alex!" Jack was screaming and sobbing, doing her best not to move her head to avoid the knife slipping into her throat. Was she begging her ward to spare her life, or was she begging him not to turn traitor and let her die? I couldn't actually tell.

"I'll tell you everything! Just stop. Stop please!" he roared, throwing himself against the ropes that tied him. His wrists were bleeding badly, and I was seriously concerned for his mental wellbeing. It was tearing me apart to have to sit, useless as they tormented Alex to the point of giving in; it wasn't right.

"Alex! Don't give them anything. He's lying to you Alex!" It was Snake who shouted it, his voice near a scream of panic and his face wild with similar feelings. It was ironic how one man had managed to tear apart my team in a matter of days while months in hell had only stabilised it. Funny how I wanted to rip his head off for it.

It was that one outburst that completely changed Alex's demeanour. It was like before he had been in a trance, and now he was awake. Cub's lip curled, looking like a feral snarl, and he looked at Ash with deadly eyes.

"You're lying to me Ash."

"I'm not Alex, they're lying. I promise that I'll get Jack and your team back to London, into the care of a hospital Alex. All I need to know is-"

"No! You're lying. You've always lied. I won't tell you anything! Ever!"

Ash's face was set in stone. He looked so angry. So bitter and hateful; so twisted. It was in a split second that everything changed, because we didn't expect it to happen so fast, not from him, not here and now. None of us actually saw it coming.

Because in that split second, everything ended. In that split second, the life left her eyes. In that 1 minuscule second, Ash slit her throat.

_**3**__**rd**__** person POV**_

Jack's legs collapsed beneath her body, as she hung more lifelessly than before, as the blood gushed from the large and very deep slice in her throat. It was obvious she was dead. Corpses had been seen in better and livelier states than that she was in.

Alex's breath had caught in his throat- it didn't look like he was breathing. Any colour had left his face, but there were tears in his eyes. Eyes that didn't dare move from the body of his housekeeper. She was dead and cold. Empty. Lifeless.

But she wasn't in pain anymore. That was the one statement Alex ran through his head again and again, repeatedly telling himself. She was happy now, and free. Free from the suffering of the life he had inevitably dragged her into; she was at peace.

"You prick, you complete-" Wolf shouted,raving madly and struggling against his own bonds as blood continued to flow freely. The rest of K-unit sat in stunned silence, eyes wide as dinner plates and faces pale. This wasn't what they had thought would happen- they'd been in plenty of sticky situations, life or death situations. Sure, they'd seen people die: they'd suffered.

But this wasn't supposed to happen. Not to them. Not to Alex. This wasn't real.

Ash was quiet. He just stood there, the blood of a dead woman flooding onto his shoes as the knife hung from his limp arm. Silence reigned underneath the noise Wolf was making.

"Get them out of here."

The henchmen had been so quiet from their places in the shadows that they'd been forgotten by the imprisoned soldiers, but now they had stepped forward, hesitant.

"I said; get the soldiers out of here. Now." He shouted. And this time, they didn't hesitate. The soldiers fought furiously because they didn't want to leave Alex alone, but they were weak and tired and drained, not to mention bound.

But stillthey shouted and fought, constantly looking back at their frozen charge before they were dragged through the door, and inevitably out of sight. Leaving Alex and Ash alone together. The murderer and the broken spy.

_**Alex POV**_

Ash dropped the knife.

"This is your fault Alex."

His voice sounded metallic, unreal in my ears. This was my fault.

"You could have saved her."

Jack could be alive and breathing. She could be smiling and happy with a man in America right now. He could have saved her, if not now, just before Ash had attacked, then a long time ago, by simply saying no, no matter the consequences.

"She could have lived Alex."

She could have pursued her career in…what was it? I can't even remember why she wanted to be in the UK now. Time seemed to be deleting history from his mind, because he couldn't even picture her smile anymore; it was lost. He'd lost her. She could have lived on.

"You're so selfish Alex. Just like your rotting mother and father. Just like your dead housekeeper."

He was right**- **he was selfish. After all, Ash is my Godfather, and they're supposed to be the one you can call a parent when your own parents are dead, therefore he had to know. He had to know. But he's betrayed me before…he wants me dead. Maybe I'm delirious and delusional at the same time. Or maybe this is a dream.

"You think you're saving people Alex? Think you're being heroic by pretending to be a good person? You're not. You're worthless Alex."

He was right; all I ever have done is hurt people. So many people have been hurt because of me. And now Jack is dead. Because of me. She didn't deserve to die. He couldn't save anyone.

"You're pathetic, and so worthless. You hurt so many people and yet you still live. We wouldn't be here if you had died. Jack wouldn't be dead. Your precious unit wouldn't be here. You deserve to die."

That hurt. I hadn't realised I'd been crying the whole time but now it suddenly it hit me. He was right. I deserved to be cold and dead, buried underground somewhere.

"You should feel so guilty about the murder of your housekeeper Alex. Her death is completely your fault."

It was my fault. She's dead and cold and lifeless and everything she doesn't deserve because of me. Because I'm so pathetic. I think that's the time when I crumbled and broke down. When the true, weak self of mine broke free. I hung in the chair, not wasting time with caring about the physical pain. It was the burning of my chest as my heart continued to rip itself to pieces with every beat. Ash was quiet then, and I was glad because I couldn't bear to hear his voice anymore.

"Tell me what I want to know Alex."

But of course his silence couldn't last.

And with everything, there was only one thing he could do.

"No."

* * *

><p>The cell was cold when I was thrown back into it, but maybe I got goose bumps from the thought of being trapped in a small room again. When the door slammed shut behind me and I was left facing my silent unit, my anger set in. Wolf went to speak, but I put up my hand and surprised him into silence.<p>

"I won't be pushed around like a worthless vegetable. I won't be the person that people take pity on. I won't be the broken toy, not now, not ever. Ash is worthless and he is going to die. I know revenge is wrong but I'm past caring. We're going to get out of here and we are going to tear this place apart. No one else is going to die and I refuse to wallow in my own self-pity. Are you guys in?"

The unit didn't need to look at each other to make a decision, because there was no doubt.

"Of course."

* * *

><p><em><strong>What do you think? Reviews and advice are welcome. Until next time folks :) <strong>_


	9. Chapter 9

So, err hi guys! *Hides behind barrier as stones are thrown in her direction from angry readers who haven't had an update in months* Sorry for the delay! I could give you a million excuses but I'm not going too, so I'm just sorry it's taken me so long for this! Alas, the time has come!

Just quickly, before chapter 9 begins, I thought I'd reply to a few reviews, or at least thank ya'll who reviewed, for you know, reviewing.

SO thanks to: mintparsleyoreganothyme - Brackenfern - royalfuschia - youngjusticefanatic - LifeAsMe - bubzchoc - ReillyScarecrowRocks - Wolfwind97 - xDarklightx - (And the people who didn't log in to review...) - Martha - amzaa - and Guest

__You guys are awesome, thanks for reviewing! In fact, thanks to everyone whose taken the time to read my story (or at least reach the end of one of my longest A/N's ever...). So enjoy and don't forget to review!

* * *

><p><em>"You should feel so guilty about the murder of your housekeeper Alex. Her death is completely your fault."<em>

_It was my fault. She's dead and cold and lifeless and everything she doesn't deserve because of me. Because I'm so pathetic. I think that's the time when I crumbled and broke down. When the true, weak self of mine broke free. I hung in the chair, not wasting time with caring about the physical pain. It was the burning of my chest as my heart continued to rip itself to pieces with every beat. Ash was quiet then, and I was glad because I couldn't bear to hear his voice anymore._

_"Tell me what I want to know Alex."_

_But of course his silence couldn't last._

_"No."_

_The cell was cold when I was thrown back into it, but maybe I got goose bumps from the thought of being trapped in a small room again. When the door slammed shut behind me and I was left facing my silent unit, my anger set in. Wolf went to speak, but I put up my hand and surprised him into silence._

_"I won't be pushed around like a worthless vegetable. I won't be the person that people take pity on. I won't be the broken toy, not now, not ever. Ash is worthless and he is going to die. I know revenge is supposedly wrong but I'm past caring. We're going to get out of here and we are going to tear this place apart. No one else is going to die and I refuse to wallow in my own self-pity. Are you guys in?"_

_The unit didn't need to look at each other to make a decision, because there was no doubt._

_"Of course."_

Alex paced back and forth in their small cell, under the watch of the four soldiers sitting against the wall. The silence was heavy as all five poured their minds into their escape, but kept their mouths closed; all with the exception of Alex. It was completely out of character for him to express any emotion, but the way he was talking through all his ideas out loud was just … uncanny.

Nevertheless K-unit allowed him to continue his rambling, knowing surely that his mutterings were safe, as they had deemed the room safe after a thorough check for cameras and audio devices earlier.

"Stop!" Fox exclaimed suddenly, jumping to his feet and grabbing Alex's shoulders.

"What?" Alex replied, bewildered.

"The plan you just said. Talk through it again. It could work Cub." Fox, being the most skilled in this type of intelligence situation, meant that Alex might actually have been on to something. But Alex just shook his head and kept going.

"Cub, this is risky."

The blonde raised his eyebrow; "You can rot in a cell and moan about my plans, or you can help." His voice was cold, bitter.

"I was just stating a fact Alex." Eagle replied, scrutinizing his face for any sign of the emotion he knew was there. "Give us a chance to help you with this. You aren't alone here."

Sighing in defeat, Alex slid to the floor, grateful for the feeling of the cold stone against his sweaty back, even through his t-shirt. "I- I know. Have you got any ideas then?"

And so the planning commenced, with the soldiers and the boy debating (to a certain degree) through different tactical schemes. And though remaining stoic towards the unsaid subject, the unit were greatly appeased by his change in attitude.

Yet K-unit remained careful. Cautious in what they said and how they addressed Alex, desperately hoping that the spy not notice how they skirted around him. It wasn't something they had learned in training, it was a life lesson learnt as a soldier. In the militant lifestyle, trauma in the field was no stranger, as many times they had witnessed the break down of a man, or an entire unit from the stress of psychological trauma. What also had to be taken into consideration in this situation was that Alex was a lethal weapon, and had killed people without the mental preparation that came with being a solider. But the victim was his mother figure, and he was a teenager- his mind was still developing, he was constantly changing and sometimes unstable.

This mental torture could kill him.

"The issue is that we don't know enough about the layout of this place. We have no idea about defenses, their weaponry, and their footmen. This could be an island off the Indian Ocean for Christ's Sake!" Snake kicked the wall angrily, gritting his teeth just as forcefully as he clenched his fists. It was a rare occasion for the medic to get this angry, butitwas not something that his unit would hold him to.

The blonde teens brow creased as he moved on from the angry mans outburst; "The idea I said, that Fox grabbed me about, I've been thinking about it, and it's probably the best idea so far."

"It's so unpredictable Cub: too many variables. Like Eagle said, it's risky." Fox countered from the corner of the small cell in which he had retracted to.

"It wouldn't be the first thing in our lives that had 'too many variables', would it?" Alex replied dryly.

There was a pause.

"Kids got a point…"

"Shut up Eagle." Fox snarled, consequentially altering the tension in the room. Not positively.

"No need to bite my head off," the other replied, clearly offended by Fox's malicious reply.

"I'm tired of you and your pretence of innocence. Justshut up!" Fox ground his teeth, and by the end of the sentence he was near shouting.

"What do you mean by-"

"Both of you. Silent. That's an order." Wolf growled, stepping up between the two as they both rose to their feet. "One word in the others direction that's in any way negative from either of you, and I will hurt you. Understood?"

"Yes sir," they chorused, now redirecting their distasteful looks to their leader. Wolf picked up on his soldiers' disinterest in obeying him, and realized that the gravity of their situation and the minor in their hands was getting to their heads and casting a dark cloud over them.

"We can't change that we don't know what's going on out there. These guys aren't going to be manipulated into letting us wander about and the scope the place out, not in the time we have. I'd say we have 2 days max before something goes down and I don't want to be here when it does. This arguing isn't going to help us, nor will whining about the situation. We're going to sit down, and we are going to devise a plan like the unit we are. I know I'm supposed to go by the hand book and tell you that everything is going to be alright and it'll all work out if we sit and wait for help, because that's obviously not true and we all know this. We are going to get ourselves out, and we aren't going to lose anyone in the process, because then I'll have to kill you for it. Clear?"

"Yes sir…"

"How about we pretend that two of us are in a fight, and that we're killing each other. They're bound to do something." Eagle suggested, taking a sweeping glance at Fox as he surveyed his teammates reaction.

"It sure would get a reaction, but we can't do it." Fox replied, and at Eagle's confused look he continued, "Well, if they think you're being aggressive, they're going to bring in more guns, and they might just finish us off. And if they think that we're hurting Cub, they're likely to try and take him away from us because they don't want him dead right now. We'd be helpless unless one of us wants to be shot."

"Or…" the teen trailed off, filing himself into the debate. Alex managed something close to smile, however sly, as his world came into focus and their plan clicked in his head. "It's perfect. I say we go with Eagle's idea."

"Cub, that's crazy. Do you want us dead?" Snake frowned.

"Of course not. I thought Eagle's idea was too risky, but Fox convinced me."

"That wasn't quite what I was going for!" Fox muttered in exclamation quietly to himself. Putting the past behind him, Eagle patted his shoulder gently and replied:

"I know buddy, I know."

Wolf growled at their antics, though pleased they were no longer at each other's throats.

"Moving on … if two or three of you are fake fighting, and the other calls for help then they're bound to bring reinforcements." Alex stated, looking round expectantly after he'd finished and wondering why no one else seemed to have caught on. "Whenever they've turned up, it's been the same few guys. So reinforcements will be people who are lower down and rookies, but no doubt they'll have guns."

"Genius Cub!" Snake exclaimed, catching on to the teen spies idea. "Idiots with guns, they'll never know what hit them!"

"And we all get out alive." Eagle stated.

"Exactly." Alex deadpanned, as the realization that he was escaping alive hit him. He was going to escape this hell hole, and get away from Ash.

Without Jack.

Once the planning stage was done and dusted, it didn't take long for the unit to get into position and prepare for their escape. The SAS unit were fully trained in every aspect of the situation, and the teen spy had more than enough experience tucked under his wing; especially in this outnumbered, unknowledgeable and completely dangerous escape for their lives.

"Ready?" Wolf asked. The unit nodded in response. "Go."

Fox ran up to the door and started pounding his fists against it, shouting and near screaming 'help' for the guards. He made himself sound as desperate as he could whilst thumping the solid door as hard as humanly possible. Behind him, his unit worked to authenticate the situation as the noise caught the attention of one of the guards, whom of which was slowly dawdling towards them. As he approached, Alex faked a pain filled sound and Eagle threw himself against a wall as safely as possible without actually hurting himself that much. Wolf swore and Snake stamped his foot against the floor, satisfied with the thud.

"What's going on in there?" the guard asked. Alex raised his eyebrows; this guard seemed more incompetent than any other he had ever encountered.

"They're fighting!" Fox exclaimed, feigning breathlessness, "I've tried stopping them but there's only one of me. There's gonna be blood spilt soon and they're hurting the kid."

Wolf threw a punch as painlessly as possible in Snake's leg, but they were going to have to hurt each other to make this real enough to even consider the possibility of escape. Though the medic had survived worse, he over dramatized his reaction and shouted and swore.

Fox could practically see the uncertainty in the guards voice: "Tell 'em to stop it or we'll batter 'em."

Looking back desperately, the soldier was encouraged by his team to continue. "I can't stop them, there's only one of me and they've hurt the boy. We need help."

The guard walked away, and Fox almost swore. It was a long silence before a moment later two sets of footsteps returned back to outside their cell. The fake fight continued. "Help us! You have to help, they're gonna kill each other!"

"Maybe we should just let them kill each other, at least then we don't have to do it ourselves." The other guard suggested, clearly not impressed by their show.

"I was under the impression that you idiots had been ordered to not to let them die."

This person's voice was like chalk on a white board, screeching unnaturally and bringing pain to their ears. It was awful. He also new: Alex was sure that if he'd heard a voice like that before, he would definitely remember.

"Ah, n-no Sir. I k-know Sir. I d-didn't mean it S-Sir." The previously near-cocky, confident voice was quieter and much more uncertain now, like he knew all too well that the other didn't approve of him. From this, the prisoners had come to the conclusion that this man was somewhat in charge of the guards.

"Well then, what are you going to do about it?" behind the solid door, the fight continued as the men threw more effort into their fake fight, wincing inside about the fact that they were being forced to hurt their teammates. It helped, to some degree, if they pictured it as just training. Training, where the aim was to bring the other down.

Admirably, it had been Alex's idea to do this, which only made the soldiers more concerned about him; how would a 14 year old know such solid methods to separate one self from reality? The only answer was experience, which made the entire situation just a little more dispiriting.

Fox imagined the pale, sweaty face of the guard cowering beneath this others power. "B-break the fight up, S-sir," the stutter continued.

"Yes, Fletcher. Well done; it seems you have a brain in there, however tiny and inconsequential this brain may be." He paused for a moment, as if listening the rage behind the door, "And you're going to need weapons, because this lot don't seem to be fighting friendly, nor are they small."

"Aye Sir." This was the other one, the accented one, confirming. They quickly walked away.

Alex sighed quietly in relief, though the tension was high and he felt claustrophobic from the corner of the small room as the soldiers shouted and threw each other around. Snake sent him a reassuring look as he dived away from the path of Wolf's powerless fake punch, yet dared not speak in the fear of the guards doubting them, even for a second.

Even for a single second.

In retrospect, it had all worked out rather to plan, which made a change. Fox had been chosen as the soldier out of the fight because he was the most lean and least intimidating. Preference would have been Snake because he had the softest and more innocent-like facial features of the men, but if Ash turned up and knew that he was a medic then they might be left alone and told to fix themselves. But if the medic was injured then they might deliberate even more so.

Though there were no visible cameras, the 5 walked in a unit formation hastily with the weapons from the guards poised: all 5 of them. Rather convenient really. The building seemed to be a large, intricate maze of identical, grey walls and they quite possibly could have been walking in circles for the past 10 minutes and would be none the wiser. At least, these were the pessimistic thoughts of Wolf, and by the look of determination on Alex's face perhaps they weren't as lost as he presumed they were.

But the air was fresher and freedom was itching on their skin; it was so close it could practically be touched. The strangest thing of it all was that since they'd left their own corridor they'd come into contact with not one other guard; in fact, not one other life form and it was demoralizing to say the least.

"Cub, are you sure we're not walking in circles? I recognize this corner." Eagle stated, frowning.

Alex rolled his eyes but was frankly thankful for Eagle's interruption of the icy silence; he knew that they had to be silent to not get caught but at the same time he had no want for serious silence. In fact, he was probably angry enough to kill any guard that got in his way.

"Eagle, I am completely sure we're not walking in circles. Besides, that's the least of our problems; there's an exit just round the next corner and we've not met nor seen one guard since we escaped our cell and knocked out 4 of them. Something's not right." His brow was no creased, and it matched the expressions of the other members of the unit.

Wolf nodded, "Cub's right, but-" he faltered: what to say? It was rare for him to not know what to say, considering he was the leader of k-unit, but at the same time he felt that Cub was in charge. Now he knew that Cub was a teenager and that he really did not have any authority in comparison to even the four soldiers (or did he? He'd never expressed authority or used it against any of them, but knowing the secretive Cub it was entirely possible he as second in command of MI6… or something) but he was just natural in his stealth and the maturity of his balanced demands.

"But there's no point standing here like we are wondering why we aren't being shot at, when we should just keep going and get it over with?" Snake inserted tiredly, eyebrow raised.

"Yes. Let's go. Weapons ready, men." Wolf said shortly, tone sure and one that the unit was more than well attuned to.

They pushed onwards behind Wolf and Cub, who now seemed to be level with each other. Eagle still had his doubts as to whether they were really going anywhere, but the negatives were far buried as a door came into sight, strangely enough with a green 'Fire Exit' sign above the door frame: that certainly wasn't there before during their walk of escape.

"Unit, expect to be under fire. Look for shelter and get the hell there." Wolf ordered curtly, turning to look for a moment only at each soldier before moving forward and pushing the bar down on the door. It was unlocked, which raised further questions they had no time to even contemplate.

The door flew open allowing Cub and Wolf to poke their heads out slightly and take a look around. There was grass on the ground and clouds in the sky, and a fair bit of wind. Yet no fence, no watch towers and more importantly no guards.

"Go!" Wolf ordered, and all 5 made a break for it, running at a fast jog and constantly turning, scrutinizing the landscape with a hawk eye for any sign of movement. It didn't take long to be at a far enough distance to see the low lying, breeze block grey building. It was insignificant looking and just _so_ordinary; how could so much have been lost in such a boring space?

Thoughts such as these captivated Alex's every thought, pushing aside his instinctual need for escape and fogging his senses; Jack's body lay alone and cold, undoubtedly still slit and bloody, green eyes wide and glassy- never to see again. Whilst he was here and breathing and deserting her. Jack's love for him was unconditional, and here he was abandoning her dead body like she had never sacrificed anything for him. How could he be so tragically human with a sense that this was okay? How could he continue to run away like she meant nothing to him? It was like he was dead inside.

The cover from the trees was fast approaching, the free run quickly coming to an end; he had to do something, and he would have to do it now. "Wolf, I have to go back!" he exclaimed, slowing.

The SAS leader near-halted in his step, as did his unit. "Are you crazy? Cub, they know we've gone and haven't got long. Hurry the hell up!" he grabbed Alex's arm as he said this and started running again. The others preferred to be silent than to intervene. At least, whilst Alex was allowing himself to be pulled along.

Alex yanked away from the unit leader and started for the other direction, but both Wolf and Eagle grabbed him simultaneously, both dragging him along. Alex struggled and tried to turn but Fox pushed him and Eagle and Wolf ran faster, half carrying the teen (who was far lighter than he should have been) in their attempts to keep him from returning to their hell. "I have to go back for Jack! She deserves a proper funeral and I can't bury her body if it's in there!" he shouted furiously. Wolf froze in his steps, his surprised unit stopping around him, concerned.

"Wolf, we have to keep moving!" Snake hissed, "They'll be here in moments and I bet you they'll have a hell of a lot more manpower than we do, gun power too. Then we'll be back in there and dead before you know it!"

"He's right Wolf," Fox agreed, before turning to Alex: "Alex she's dead. But she would not want you do die just because she's not around anymore. You know that."

Everyone watched in a stony silence, waiting for Alex to react. Exhausted to the point of fatigue and running on adrenaline that had began to fade whilst they stood waiting, the background faded around them. It was wrong and it was more than strange; soldiers and spies were known to keep their heads in these situations…

Maybe they were broken toys now.

Whatever now, it didn't really matter, the time had come where they had to make a decision. It was the end.

"It's a shame, Alex, that your escape failed so miserably."

Alex's breath hitched in his throat. The voice, poison; ice in his ears. He knew the patronizing tone and he knew hate was all that voice really deserved. He turned to face the speaker; barely noting that Wolf and Eagle had lost their grip. They too, had frozen.

"You put on quite a good show," he continued, "though I'm disappointed it was this easy to surround you. Really, this is Britain's best? Ha. You should be ashamed that you're so damn weak."

He stood behind a brute or two, peeking round like a child. But no child could be him, because he was so bitter and hateful and twisted. No child could ever be so hated. No child would be so fearful that he had his dozens of guard, complete with guns, ready to fire on captives.

"I'm not weak Ash." He ground out. "I'm stronger than you'll ever be, and you won't ever capture me again. We're not going down with out a fight, and I'm never going to be at your power again. I'd rather die."

Ash walked out to stand in front of the brute, a crazed look in his eye.

"So be it."

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><p>What do you think? Boring, slow? Hate me for the delay? Any comments, review them 'coz I love feedback from my writing!<p>

Next Chapter: Fight scene!


	10. Chapter 10

_***Hides behind laptop* Hey guys, I'm alive! So it's been a while since I last updated this story and I'm sorry for such the delay, but here it is! I assure you I have actually been on and off working on this story the whole time; I just never got it right! This is the first time I've got it close to right and I am hoping that this chapter won't disappoint anybody. It's probably about a third of the length of every other chapter, but think how much longer it may have taken me to write if I'd continued! **_

_**This chapter is quite important for the story, and I don't want to say anymore so that I don't ruin it… enjoy and please review!**_

_**Disclaimer: Characters do not belong to me, and all uses of technical or military stuff is completely made up and not accurate.**_

**Chapter 10**

**_Previously in 'Caught in the Fading Lights' … _**

_The cover from the trees was fast approaching, the free run quickly coming to an end; he had to do something, and he would have to do it now. "Wolf, I have to go back!" he exclaimed, slowing._

_The SAS leader near-halted in his step, as did his unit. "Are you crazy? Cub, they know we've gone and haven't got long. Hurry the hell up!" he grabbed Alex's arm as he said this and started running again. The others preferred to be silent than to intervene. At least, whilst Alex was allowing himself to be pulled along._

_Alex yanked away from the unit leader and started for the other direction, but both Wolf and Eagle grabbed him simultaneously, both dragging him along. Alex struggled and tried to turn but Fox pushed him and Eagle and Wolf ran faster, half carrying the teen (who was far lighter than he should have been) in their attempts to keep him from returning to their hell. "I have to go back for Jack! She deserves a proper funeral and I can't bury her body if it's in there!" he shouted furiously. Wolf froze in his steps, his surprised unit stopping around him, concerned._

_"Wolf, we have to keep moving!" Snake hissed, "They'll be here in moments and I bet you they'll have a hell of a lot more manpower than we do, gun power too. Then we'll be back in there and dead before you know it!"_

_"He's right Wolf," Fox agreed, before turning to Alex: "Alex she's dead. But she would not want you do die just because she's not around anymore. You know that."_

_Everyone watched in a stony silence, waiting for Alex to react. Exhausted to the point of fatigue and running on adrenaline that had began to fade whilst they stood waiting, the background faded around them. It was wrong and it was more than strange; soldiers and spies were known to keep their heads in these situations…_

_Maybe they were broken toys now._

_Whatever now, it didn't really matter, the time had come where they had to make a decision. It was the end._

_"It's a shame, Alex, that your escape failed so miserably."_

_Alex's breath hitched in his throat. The voice, poison; ice in his ears. He knew the patronizing tone and he knew hate was all that voice really deserved. He turned to face the speaker; barely noting that Wolf and Eagle had lost their grip. They too, had frozen._

_"You put on quite a good show," he continued, "though I'm disappointed it was this easy to surround you. Really, this is Britain's best? Ha. You should be ashamed that you're so damn weak."_

_He stood behind a brute or two, peeking round like a child. But no child could be him, because he was so bitter and hateful and twisted. No child could ever be so hated. No child would be so fearful that he had his dozens of guard, complete with guns, ready to fire on captives._

_"I'm not weak Ash." He ground out. "I'm stronger than you'll ever be, and you won't ever capture me again. We're not going down with out a fight, and I'm never going to be at your power again. I'd rather die."_

_Ash walked out to stand in front of the brute, a crazed look in his eye._

_"So be it."_

**_…Now…_**

Everything ended in less than 5 minutes.

Hatred and anger, at Ash, at captivity, of the torture and the death that the man had pushed upon them, burned within the 5. Newfound strength had surged through veins, adrenaline pumping them forward and their muscles, oh how they'd _ached _to be used. Despite the lack of use, despite the torture and the pain inflicted; it had all led to this. If they had ever had any chance of escape, it would have all come down to this. To the final stand. And that it had.

K-unit had shared a look. One of complete understanding; if they were going to go down, then it was going to be fighting to the last breath.

The jumbled assortment of memories fuelled their minds before becoming insignificant, flattened facts of the past. Having surveyed the group of soldiers and their capabilities, Alex found that (when considering K-units various injuries) the fight was almost even. But they had the disadvantage. The spy could just about fire a gun but his other hand was useless thanks to the break, making him practically useless himself. Not that the guards, or Ash at this point were too much of a threat- no body had shot yet.

No body moved at first. This was, after all, a stand off before it would become bloody; a power struggle between two opposing sides. Ash's mouth was set in a firm, hard straight line and he'd simply stared at them.

"Maim, don't kill them. We want them alive." He ordered, stepping back.

And the next two minutes flashed by. Alex was by far the most damaged of the unit, so he could only self-defend. But Fox, whose injuries left him rendered almost as inert as Alex, too could not fight.

It was a hard fight, and they damned nearly lost. Multiple times Wolf found himself beneath whoever he was fighting, imagining the gun coming down to smash his skull, but every time he got back up, kept fighting and pushed on. Because he needed to. _Wanted _too.

Alex had never actually been trained with a gun by MI6 or the SAS. Not before Scorpia; Malogosto Island had changed that for him. Turned him into a killing machine, not just a teenage spy. It was then that it became who he was: changed every atom of his being to something that could just kill and walk away. It was his biggest regret.

Most of the time. This was one, rare, rare occasion.

He may not have had the use of one of his arms, but that didn't mean Rider wasn't brilliant; ruthless and skilled like no other, not just of his age but also of his profession. Using the strength and speed of his charging opponent to flip the man down himself, he then proceeded to take his gun and shoot. Once in the head: no point on wasting ammunition. He managed to kill 2 more of them before the gun ran out of ammo; clearly, the late owner had forgotten to reload before the fight. Stupid.

There was nothing more to it. It was basic human survival.

Just for a moment, Alex paused to allow his shoulders to sag and his eyes cloud with the pain that was fighting to burn him alive. The dull throb of his arm reminded him of its break, but he knew if he let himself slip any further from the barrier protecting him, it would be so painful that it might literally kill him. But that moment almost cost him his life.

A goon swung their gun round the back of his head, sending him barrelling down hard for the ground; hard enough that the breath was knocked out of him. The man was the worst of human kind, and he smiled as he placed a foot on Alex's ribs and dug his heel in, the gun pointing for his chest the only.

It was a cloudy day but Alex saw the gleam of glee in his eyes, causing a knot to form in his own stomach. Suddenly, from nowhere Fox came up behind the man just as he cocked his pistol, a gun in hand. But he did not fire it, instead, with his good arm, swinging wholeheartedly the metal item into the back of the mans skull.

He wouldn't have survived that. No one could've.

Alex pulled himself up cautiously, eyes darting in every direction and heart racing fast. Eagle had just put a man to the floor and Wolf was on fire, 3 men in the midst of fighting with him, long since run out of ammo. Despite his injuries, like the rest of his unit he was ignoring them. Later, they would pay for that, with pain but with the reward of their lives.

In fact, it was Wolf that triggered the events that led to the end. He was heading straight for Ash, and the two guards that were initially guarding the man broke rank to get Wolf. Ash had been left without protection, gun hanging at his side and the only thing in his hand a blade that not much could be done with. Or so they thought.

The last 3 of the guards had pinned down Wolf, but not one member of K-unit was close enough to get to their unit leader in time, for Ash was approaching the prone Wolf, blade gleaming even brighter than the eye of a murderer. But all Wolf did was shout "SNAKE!" at the top of his lungs.

Ash didn't even get a chance to see what was coming for him. Didn't see the medic with a pistol cocked, perfectly aimed for his vulnerable skull. Snake's green eyes were cold, but not the void of his old friends'. Yet Ash did not see any of it, maybe he was a coward; maybe he did not want to face the inevitable, because everyone knew Snake would not miss. It only took a second, maybe two, for the Scots man to pull the trigger, and that was it.

Ash was dead.

Alex imagined the lifeless orbs, that had been trained on him as soon as Wolf had screamed Snake's name, would have rolled into the skull as the body crumpled. It was a perfect shot; he didn't really even know what had hit him.

The small, angry and hateful part of Alex, deep inside him, wished that it had not been this way. Jack had suffered for innocence – because of him – and had suffered so much, God, Ash deserved-

He couldn't do it to himself. Couldn't let himself think, because the body was still there, warm, and the horrible things he could do. Well, he shouldn't. A grave feeling of fear settled on his chest; how much better was he, really, to be thinking like that: to allow those dark thoughts to flicker through his mind like a blooming flame.

"Alex?"

Alex jumped, turning to look at Fox. It was then he realised that he was standing beside Ash's body, a puddle of blood oozing round his shoes. Ash's? No, he realised, someone had shot the remaining 3 guards. The teen hadn't heard the gunshots.

"It's finished." He stated numbly, eyes returning to the lifeless ones of a man that had taken so much from him.

"Yeah," Fox agreed, "It's over Alex. He's dead."


	11. Chapter 11

_Well, after my long break from writing this story, I'm back again. So hey! I want to thank everyone who is bothering to stick with this, and to all those out there who have reviewed my story. It gave me a reason to continue writing (plus I wanted to know how this ends, because I don't yet ... )_

_So enjoy! _

**Chapter 11**

_**Previously in 'Caught in the Fading Lights' … **_

_The last 3 of the guards had pinned down Wolf, but not one member of K-unit was close enough to get to their unit leader in time, for Ash was approaching the prone Wolf, blade gleaming even brighter than the eye of a murderer. But all Wolf did was shout "SNAKE!" at the top of his lungs. _

_Ash didn't even get a chance to see what was coming for him. Didn't see the medic with a pistol cocked, perfectly aimed for his vulnerable skull. Snake's green eyes were cold, but not the void of his old friends'. Yet Ash did not see any of it, maybe he was a coward; maybe he did not want to face the inevitable, because everyone knew Snake would not miss. It only took a second, maybe two, for the Scots man to pull the trigger, and that was it. _

_Ash was dead. _

_Alex imagined the lifeless orbs, that had been trained on him as soon as Wolf had screamed Snake's name, would have rolled into the skull as the body crumpled. It was a perfect shot; he didn't really even know what had hit him. _

_The small, angry and hateful part of Alex, deep inside him, wished that it had not been this way. Jack had suffered for innocence – because of him – and had suffered so much, God, Ash deserved- _

_He couldn't do it to himself. Couldn't let himself think, because the body was still there, warm, and the horrible things he could do. Well, he shouldn't. A grave feeling of fear settled on his chest; how much better was he, really, to be thinking like that: to allow those dark thoughts to flicker through his mind like a blooming flame. _

"_Alex?" _

_Alex jumped, turning to look at Fox. It was then he realised that he was standing beside Ash's body, a puddle of blood oozing round his shoes. Ash's? No, he realised, someone had shot the remaining 3 guards. The teen hadn't heard the gunshots. _

"_It's finished." He stated numbly, eyes returning to the lifeless ones of a man that had taken so much from him. _

"_Yeah," Fox agreed, "It's over Alex. He's dead."_

**Now **

The flames were raging. Alex could not look away; could not break the gaze he had transfixed on the whirling, dancing light before his eyes. It was captivating and free, alive and spirited, red –

- just like Jack -

Alive. Not like Jack. Jack was not alive, not anymore. He'd never compared her to a flame before, for her true beauty in all personality, mind and body had never really seemed so significant, not like it did now. She had been a beautiful person, and now she was just a dead person.

It was on him. Ash told him so and he knew it to be true. She never would have gotten caught up in any of this if it were not for him. He wasn't quite sure he could pinpoint the exact moment that it became his fault over MI6's … it just was. Maybe it always had been.

"Cub?"

He glanced up to see all 4 members of his unit looking owlishly at him, with varying degrees of concern in their eyes. A part of him wanted to laugh, even though it wasn't at all funny. He was breaking, surely. Inside his head he knew he was beginning to shatter. Or maybe he'd already shattered and the flakes of his pure insanity were only now starting to float on his surface.

"Yeah?" _Don't let them see you breaking,_ he chided to himself, sitting up a little straighter and ignoring the stir of pain. Snake had made him a sling and wrappings for his ribs, which offered a lot better support than that of when they'd been in the cell, but Alex could see where they'd gotten the cloths from, and even if they had tried to kill them it still felt utterly wrong to be using the dead's clothes as a means of aid.

"You okay kid? You're really distant." Eagle pointed out tactlessly. And though everyone wanted to wince internally, no one jabbed him in the ribs per the usual fashion, for at least 2 were probably broken.

Alex chose to ignore him. After a moment of silence, Snake said; "Did you get hit in the head?" It was obvious that he'd been hit in the head multiple times at the cells, though his memory was rather fragmented. He flashed back to the fight, but with adrenaline pumping it all seemed to meld into one and he couldn't really remember any of it clearly. Not until the very end at least.

He shrugged, regretting it instantly as he murmured a "probably," quietly. More silence tailed this.

"Cub, I think," Wolf paused, grasping for words, "I think we need to talk about this. No one expects you to be okay, and it's okay not to be, and –"

"What he's saying," Fox interrupted smoothly, sounding a whole lot more coherent than he had after a particularly nasty hit to the head hours before, "Is that however recent, bottling up what you're thinking and feeling is dangerous for anything, but the trauma you've experienced … " He trailed off unsurely.

"Is so severe that it's this time period that's most significant in deciding your recovery rate. Trust us, we know, we're practically trauma experts." Eagle said, a mature note to his tone that was new. New and welcome; it seemed he was most capable out of all of them of speaking in that moment, and that didn't happen often, if ever.

"You're not being rushed into anything, I swear, but you need to speak. Communicate something – anything – so that we know you're okay. God knows you're a quiet kid, Cub, but right now is not the time to be quiet. Even if you just start screaming at us."

The words rang in Alex's head. They were concerned, of course they were; anyone would be breaking now. Anyone would have broken months ago – he was lucky to be alive.

But cursed, too, all things considering. But the words didn't just ring; they _stung. _

Yet he said nothing in favour of returning his unbroken, mindless gaze back to the fire in the centre of them all. An uneasy look passed between the four and Wolf had an idea that, whilst insensitive and maybe a little cruel, would cause Alex to begin to open – even if it meant screaming at them.

"Look, Cub, I know exactly how you feel, I'm sure you're really upset and – "

"You have absolutely no f*****g clue."

His voice sliced through the air and caused Wolf to pause mid sentence. Never, not once, had he ever heard Alex speak like that. Not to anybody. It was cold and most of all it was threatening. Deadly even.

"Cub, c'mon, you'll be okay. We'll have the funeral and whatever and you can recover and it'll all blow over in a few months." Even Wolf himself had to wince at how insensitive and dick-headed he sounded. It was a terrible, inhuman thing to say to the teenager, but he knew that. He just needed to know what Alex was thinking, because there was an incredibly high chance that he was a danger to himself and those around him.

"How dare you speak like that? You're completely wrong!" Alex was on his feet, face an odd reddish colour; "Jack is dead and nothing is ever going to be the same! She's gone forever and she died a horrible, slow, torturous death because of me, right in front of us. I saw her eyes when the light left them, so how do you think I'm f*****g feeling? I thought you'd changed Wolf, but you're a bigger a******e than I ever though, God, I swear if I could kill you right now, I would."

That had them taken aback. Alex had never threatened to kill any of them; he'd only ever killed people who were bad. He'd never spoken about his killing and that was fine by them as professionals, they understood that. But this … this was more serious than they could have pictured.

They were treading on eggshells here, and they needed to be a lot more careful.

"Alex, just, uh, sit down. Take a breath." Snake instructed, standing up and looking warily at the fuming teen. He seemed to be having trouble controlling his breathing, and his entire stance was one that could easily fall into a fighting position in a simple second. In fact, his muscles looked coiled and prepared to pounce, even with his broken wrist and god knows whatever internal injuries he'd sustained.

"Sit down? Take a breath?" Alex's voice was starting to climb in volume, but the sheer force of the words never abandoned what he said. "I'M GOING TO F*****G KILL SOMEBODY!" He screamed, hands spread out but so tense; angrier than fists clenched, like he was prepared to wrap the taught fingers round someone's throat a squeeze till the light died with them. Murderous was not something any of them had ever associated with their small, blonde little Cub, but in that moment, he looked ruthless and oh so able to kill.

Terribly, truly ready for it.

Standing up and shouting, coupled with the energy put into trying not to actually kill Wolf, was draining Alex's lagging energy reserve to the point of exhaustion. They'd walked for over 5 hours, till they were more-or-less confident that Scorpia weren't going to discover them any time soon, and then set up camp in a small clearing. 'Camp' by the loosest definition, but he'd had it worse.

A part of him didn't want to hurt Wolf, but it was ant sized compared to the murderous part of him that itched to wrap his hands round the man's throat. Usually, he was silently commended by those in his field for his self control, but with a snarl he lost the part of his humanity that stopped him, and hurled towards Wolf.

Before any of them had even had a chance to react, Wolf was on his back and Alex had planted two punches on his cheek, fist raised for the third and a snarl in the back of his throat when Fox and Eagle peeled him off their leader. He was quite animalistic in his fight; attempting to kick and scratch and screech like a child. But they didn't even have to do anything, as the rush caught up with his fatigued, malnourished-like body, and his entire body went limp in their arms.

There was a shocked silence as the moment caught up with the men, and a growing, tense fear manifesting whilst they digested it all.

"I swear I'd kill him all over again if I could," Snake growled, pulling Wolf to his feet swiftly in an act to fight the urge to break something.

"I thought everything else we've been through was screwed, but it doesn't even compare to this." Fox muttered, he and Eagle setting Alex down to the floor gently and placing him into the recovery position, wary of his injuries.

Snake knelt down beside the broken boy and took his pulse. It was the only thing he could do beside check the wrappings. "He's worse than we thought he was, and for a moment I'd have thought that wasn't possible." He stated.

A moment of silent agreement passed before them, following by a blanket of unease steadily growing around them. Their own control was starting to crack, and it was the worse time in their careers to do so. Especially with Alex as such a liability.

Deciding to take action, Wolf looked over towards the sky. "Dawn will break soon, so we should start heading out to try and find help. Snake, Eagle, one of you carry Cub, or take turns or whatever. Fox, until your shoulder's been properly checked out I don't want you carrying anything unless it's completely necessary. I'd carry him but if he woke up then he'd probably break my neck."

They all nodded and Fox went to try and put out the fire, which with Wolf's help took him only half a minute or so. Walking increased the ache and pain in their bones but it helped to ease the cold that had seeped beneath their skin in the night.

Despite the training that they'd endured in their careers, the unit had had next to no means of sustenance and only drips of water – and it was beginning to show. The pace had been set at reasonably fast, but all 4 were starting to slow, and Alex had already been swapped between the shoulders of Eagle, Snake and even Wolf, twice each.

The slow pace meant that they'd barely covered much distance when the sun was at its highest, signalling around midday. Half an hour or so later found them at a small but fast running stream that in the moment could have been about equal with heaven.

Settling themselves down, with Alex unnervingly remaining unconscious and strewn on the ground, the four paused. Moving through the fatigued stage had forced them into a state of determination for survival. When water had been drunk in the earnest, it only emphasised the gap in their starved stomachs.

"Anyone want to help me catch something?" Eagle asked quietly, looking around at the forest.

Whatever reply Fox was going to give died on his lips when Snake's head whipped round to the break in the trees from which they had entered. The look on his face was one they recognised, and had all 4 of them poised and tense in seconds. Weary or not, there was danger.

"Snake," Wolf murmured, "What is it?" Snake had unparalleled hearing – and was the only one who hadn't been bashed round the head too many times.

The medic's brow was creased in a way that was in a way alerting. He sat, perched, listening intently. He took a deep breath, and didn't stop looking around.

"I – I think I heard something."


	12. Chapter 12

**_Okay, so I've noticed my chapters are getting shorter (which is a way of building suspense, even if it isn't working ... ) but in my defence, my updates are getting quicker! Any long term follower of me or my stories can support that probably. The ending is getting close, folks! I reckon this may be one of the last remaining chapters, so enjoy! Let me know what you think by posting a review (length and content doesn't really matter). Thanks! _**

_**Previously in 'Caught in the Fading Lights' … **_

_Settling themselves down, with Alex unnervingly remaining unconscious and strewn on the ground, the four paused. Moving through the fatigued stage had forced them into a state of determination for survival. When water had been drunk in the earnest, it only emphasised the gap in their starved stomachs. _

"_Anyone want to help me catch something?" Eagle asked quietly, looking around at the forest. _

_Whatever reply Fox was going to give died on his lips when Snake's head whipped round to the break in the trees from which they had entered. The look on his face was one they recognised, and had all 4 of them poised and tense in seconds. Weary or not, there was danger. _

"_Snake," Wolf murmured, "What is it?" Snake had unparalleled hearing – and was the only one who hadn't been bashed round the head too many times. _

_The medic's brow was creased in a way that was in a way alerting. He sat, perched, listening intently. He took a deep breath, and didn't stop looking around. _

"_I – I think I heard something." _

**Now … **

They sat in dead silence.

Not the sort of comfortable silence, no, but the kind of quiet that made a spine tingle in anticipation whilst the tiny beads of sweat begin to dot and then glide down the concentrated crease of a forehead.

Wolf ran a quick itinerary: they had a few switchblades and four guns, but ammo was limited (since most of the bullets had been wasted by imbeciles trying to intimidate them into not fighting back) and hand to hand to combat was almost pointless considering they were all injured and fatigued.

But it might be their only chance of survival, he reminded himself, as he heard somewhere a twig being snapped.

"Maybe it's just a deer," Fox pointed out quietly, hopefully.

Eagle shook his head, "No, it's too quiet for an animal." His eyes the colour of a summer sky, yet as cold and treacherous in that moment as an icy pit as he listened. Everything from the degree of his neck to the white of his clenched knuckles suggested that he was ready for an attack …

… so it was troubling when he didn't see it coming.

"Move, and I shoot."

The hard, icy voice sliced through the air like the bullet he was threatening Eagle with could. A single handgun was pointed at the back of the soldiers dusty auburn head, its owner remaining hidden within the shadows.

Instantly, K-unit became even more still as 3 more men entered their clearing, essentially surrounding them. Barr the obvious, there was something wrong; these guys weren't the amateur guards they fought back at the complex; they had been deathly quiet and managed to sneak up on them, let alone track them through the forest.

It made them only one thing, and no body liked where it was heading.

Absentmindedly, Wolf conducted a head count, and when he didn't quite like what he saw, he decided to delay the inevitable just a bit.

"Why are you so desperate to kill us?" Wolf barked suddenly, eyes not fixed on the gun pointing at his own head but rather the one pressed against the back of Eagle's.

When no one answered, he continued; "You're part of a criminal group; remaining hidden and unanimous wouldn't be hard and the only person we saw is dead, yet you place so much effort into ensuring we don't survive."

The guy beside Eagle, Wolf decided, was the leader of the little gang. He bared his teeth in a Stone Age fashion; he didn't seem the usual cold assassin type, for there was too much anger.

"There was a plan." He ground out, the overt fury rolling from him in waves with a broadcast point. "There was a plan, and now the plan has crumbled because of Alex Rider again; therefore, he must die so we can continue. So I will ask nicely," Wolf didn't miss Eagle's wince as the gun was lowered to dig even more painfully into his neck.

"Where is Alex Rider?"

Animalistic like, Alex growled as he threw himself out from his shelter in the trees. Adrenaline racing, he managed to shoot the three other men, who had made the mistake of not going too close to the soldiers they were threatening. The leader had positioned himself too close to Eagle and, instead of shooting Alex on site, had chosen to watch as the teen mercilessly slaughtered his three colleagues. Eagle took a slight breath; he didn't know which would be his last, and he had the horrible sense that he was being used for bait, or for leverage; whichever one came first.

With the exception of Alex's heavy breathing, the clearing was a silent area of intense tension. Whatever fuel and strength Alex had managed to throw himself into, it was surely fast fading as the adrenaline began to sweep away; his pain would return and with that the instability of his mind.

Wolf wasn't sure he was quite happy to have the kid with a gun in his hand, when that happened. Especially considering what had happened earlier. But right now, it looked like it would be his saviour, assuming Eagle wasn't assassinated first.

"It's over." Alex stated coldly, blanking his unit in favour of staring directly, unnervingly, into the eyes of the outsider. "You're done. Scorpia is dead and finished; it hasn't been what it claims since the first time I tore them down and its never going to get where it was again, as long as I'm alive. And I'm not dying today, or anytime soon. So you can either get lost and contract for somebody else, or I am going to kill you."

In any other circumstance, Wolf was sure it would have been strange to see a 14 year old with a gun aimed at an assassin whist the child threatened the mans life, but it gave him a fleeting surge of pride and uncertainty, both at once. This may see them through the next ten minutes of their lives, but the damage Alex had sustained: that would last a lifetime.

All Eagle could do was to calm his racing heart, and hope that if he did get shot in the neck, his unit would be quick enough to save him; a calm heart would give them more time. For some time he had been expecting death on his horizon, and worked to tackle the emotion that coupled it for when the time comes. But this was not at all how he had thought he would go; undefended and on his knees, subject to humility for the purpose of manipulation. This was not what he had planned. Death had no plan, of course not, but this was all wrong.

The flicker of uncertainty that fluttered across the unnamed assassin's face was all that Alex needed to know that this was a battle won. But better to let them think they've won, let them loosen their guard just enough to place a bullet in the holes.

He laughed, bitterly, jarring Eagle's neck with the force in which was prodded his gun. "My, my young man, you are so utterly complacent and arrogant in your own abilities that you forget; Scorpia has the foundations of the very success that makes this world thrive. You have never torn it down to the last brick and no one ever will. Especially not _you._"

Enjoying the sound of his own voice (or at least that was what Wolf would put it down to) propelled the man to continue; "Children have no stand in our world Alex, not the world you seem to think yourself prince of. You have been the pet to us for too long, a pet to MI6 and the CIA and whoever else made you dance, so now it is time to make you stop."

Steel eyes ignored the frozen soldiers, who daren't move not just because of the assassin with the gun that was pointing at their teammates head, but also the teen who wasn't quite in control of what he was doing. Based on what they knew of him, it was a sure guess that he had detailed training on the subject of shooting and the idea of shoot first, think later especially.

It wasn't something that they wanted to put into progress.

"I hope you burn in hell with your parents, your guardian and disgraceful Godfather, I hope you two especially find each other somewhere in flames."

With that, he lifted his hand away from Eagle's head to aim at Alex.

This was his very last mistake.

With rare precision and speed, there was a neat, circular bullet wound in the centre of his forehead before he had blinked twice; before he had got his gun into position. If he was the assassin they suspected he was, then that made Alex …

No one quite wanted to think about that.

In many other mind sets, Wolf was sure he would have found himself angry that he had been humbly saved by somebody else, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care that much, in that moment.

The body fell beside Eagle, no blood pooling. Alex's laboured breathing over shadowed that of the unit as they allowed themselves to relax slightly, before turning back to the teen. He must have picked up the gun from the floor near one of them before creeping off silently. No one had seen him leave.

The gun was still in his hand, his hand shaking with the exertion of remaining taught. Whatever emotion was present in his eyes, it was not remorse. It was not disgust or surprise. There had been no thought in killing those four men.

He was _fourteen. _

Wolf shrunk away, more than aware of how cautious he should be: to anyone watching, it would look like Alex was threatening them with the gun. It almost felt like he was.

"Alex," Snake coughed, "they're gone mate, you can put down the gun now."

Alex blinked, turning his gaze to look at the medic. Unnervingly, the medic couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling. He couldn't tell if the boy would shoot them all now or just place the metal on the floor.

It disturbed him.

Cub's eyebrow rose slowly as he looked down to his shaking, bloodied hands. To the gun that had always disgusted him, then around to the unblinking, guarded faces of his unit. They all blurred into one with every pound of his head. He loosened his grip on the gun and went to place it down. The soldiers sighed inaudibly in relief.

But the first shot fired before Alex had got the gun to the floor, but in the end it fell before his body did, though it was in quick succession. He crumpled at an alarming speed, so quick that by the time the soldiers had any chance to react, they too found themselves shot.

The very last thing Wolf thought as he fell was that this wasn't what losing consciousness from a bullet felt like. Light faded to nothingness just as quickly.

**Authors note:**

**Let me know what you think in the review box. Thanks for reading! **


	13. Chapter 13

_Another update? I can't believe it either. Summer is proving to widen my need for writing; I don't know where it's all coming from! I'm so excited to finally be wrapping up this story after so long of thinking about how it's going to end. We're so close to the conclusion of Caught in the Fading Lights. _

**Chapter 13**

"Getting out of here today mate, I swear." Fox grumbled, tapping his fingers idly on the metal frame of his hospital bed. Sat near the foot of his bed in a chair was Snake, who nodded at his comment as he flicked through a magazine.

He placed it down on his lap to look up at his teammate. "You, Wolf and Eagle should be released today, though they're a bit concerned about Wolf's head. You know, no one in either the SAS or MI6 is against you staying a bit longer. Everyone knows Scorpia's some deep shit to mess with. That shoulder was badly damaged." Snake advised before taking a sip of his coffee.

Fox nodded reluctantly, tired of being practically tied to a bed for the past five days. Admittedly, he'd spent the first two of them unconscious, but the past three had been a drag of medical examinations mixed with crappy novels. The highlight was the few hours he'd been allowed out of the goddamn bed to talk with his unit. Though an MI6 official had taken his statement, Snake had done the full debriefing, being the least harmed one, which he considered himself lucky to escape from. It was bad enough the first time; he had no interest in reliving it.

And through it all, Snake was probably the strongest of them all at dethatching himself from the situation in order to handle it better; god knows as a medic it was important he could do so. Especially now.

"Bastards didn't need to knock us out to bring us in, I swear I'm gonna find the guy who got me in the shoulder and I'm gonna kick his face in." Fox stated, rolling his shoulders in frustration.

Cracking his knuckles and yawning, Snake agreed. "I can see where they're coming from; Alex was pointing a gun at us and for all they know, we could have all gone nuts. They probably found the complex; they would've seen the mess we left. Maybe we did."

The unspoken truth was left behind them, allowing Fox to ask the question that had hung in the aftermath.

"And, Alex?" Fox murmured, eyes downcast.

Unable to quite help himself, Snake frowned a little at the thought. "He woke up yesterday evening for the first time, properly lucid, that is. Though on a mix of reasonably strong painkillers and mild anti-psychotics, he's pretty out of it right now."

"Anti-psychotics?" Fox asked cautiously, well aware where it was going.

He nodded. "Yeah, PTSD seems pretty severe from the initial examination, but right now they're just trying to touch base. I don't quite agree with it, but I do think he needs time to physically recover and get his shit together before he comes off them. We're gonna be stuck in counseling for the next three months probably, at least, and we barely had any relationship with either Jack or Ash. God knows what's in the future for him."

"You and Ash … " Fox trailed off, not quite sure how to form what he was trying to say.

Snake shook his head; "Not for a long time, enough to disconnect myself from it. Ash was already an open wound for Alex, but losing Jack … " he took a breath before continuing:

"Well that, it was probably like a stab to the heart."

# # # _Line break, time skip 2 weeks later # # #_

Like any stereotype, it rained that day.

Her family had been told that she died in a house fire, that her body was unrecoverable. It was better that way, for them to think she passed out from smoke inhalation than to know the truth.

Besides, it would be considered a security breach to know anyway.

The Americans stood on one side of the gravesite, crying over an empty coffin. On the other side, the five of them stood in solitude. All donned in plain black suits and ties, none of them had bothered with umbrellas. Despite the memories the threatened to overwhelm when they thought of Jack, of how she died, no one had the capacity to cry.

For if tears were to be shed, it was likely that they already had.

But Alex stood in the centre, Snake's hand resting cautiously on his shoulder. Was it comfort or restraint? The expressionless, dead look on his face spoke no truth, yet whispered no hint of a lie. There was absolutely nothing there, but it became more terrible to observe when one looked into his eyes.

Brown was always associated with warmth and security, but Alex's eyes were ice. They were the dead, airless centre of a hurricane, a stalactite threatening to drop. Nobody had the reserve to look at him in the eyes, not even his unit. Maybe because of the threat of them, but maybe because of what was buried beneath the defence system: sadness, hatred, fear, loss, remorse … maybe even thoughts that led down a darker alley, drifting away from the security of sanity.

The teen held a single sunflower in his hand. Her family had told him that it was a poor choice, that she wouldn't have wanted anything but roses. But he knew that they blamed him for her death, whether they knew so or not. That was okay; he did too.

But he also knew that the sunflower was her favourite flower; that it was a symbol of happiness and the brightness that Jack emanated. That made is all just right. Never mind the fact that he wasn't supposed to have chosen her flowers until she had lived through her life, to a ripe old age. He shouldn't have had to pick a flower, pick a colour, until her hair had greyed and her eyes were lined with hundreds of crinkles where she smiled. Jack would have aged with grace, but she never had the chance.

The weight, the depth of his despair forced him down to one knee as he dropped the flower into the pit.

His unit allowed him to stay there whilst the vicar spoke and the family said their last goodbyes. He remained there until her family went for the reception, until the first man arrived ready to burying the coffin.

But then that was enough, because his suit was soaked through and his lips were tainted blue. If he had cried, it was indistinguishable from the raindrops. Eagle one side and Snake the other, they pulled him up and gently led him away in silence, unable to form words that could satisfy what really needed to be said.

Or maybe because there was nothing left to say.

_Authors note: _

_How do you think it's going to end? What did you think of this chapter? Let me know what you thought in the sweet little review box below! _


	14. Epilogue

_Hey, me again! I promised myself I'd finish this story before the end of summer holidays, and with a week to spare I reckon that's actually pretty good for me. So yeah, this is the final chapter of Caught in the Fading Lights ... I had thought about doing a sequel for this story, but I've decided I don't want to continue with this anymore in favour of pursuing other fanfics and some original work as well. _

_I just wanted to say thank you to every one who has read this story and stuck with me over the stupidly long time it has taken me to finish it. I think it's really helped my writing develop and impacted my character development and plot development skills as a writer. This started off as a test project, and I never thought so many people would read it. _

_So thank you to every reader, especially to every reviewer who has given feedback from improvement tips to the basic 'well done' that propels me to continue writing. I'm sure any reader who's written their own work on here and other websites would agree that it's something that really makes you want to write more. To everyone who's PMed me about this story, and my beta Fate's Silver Chain and other friends on here and tumblr that have helped me out a bit. _

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue – 2 months later<strong>

Alex had been at Brecon Beacons only a week, and he was already frustrated with the rain. Now, being English, he could handle some crappy weather. But there, it just poured buckets every minute and made even going to the toilet a wet, miserable, muddy and cold task.

But admittedly, it also gave him a sense of normality; this is what made up his life before everything happened, and it was like this was his chance to continue. The past two months had been a blur of darkness and of being numb. Not physically, but emotionally and mentally. After going mute for a week, unable to find the will to speak, he'd spent a lot of his time trying to wrap his head around it all.

The psychiatrists didn't help him, but focusing on not letting them in helped him to rebuild his walls again. Alex almost felt himself. Undoubtedly there was a gaping whole in his chest, and though that would shrink with time it was a scar that would never leave him, but he'd found it within him to get up every morning, and that was something.

Of course, he would never go home again and knock on the door. Never see the blur of red as she threw herself at him in a massive hug that would make him struggle to breath. Never again would he try and help her experimental cooking or go for a drive in her mini together. They'd never speak again.

But that was okay.

At first, it was those realisations that crushed his heart. But with those, he recognised that she would not have wanted him to wallow in pity once she was gone. She had always been the one to tell him to pull himself together when Ian walked out and disappeared over and over again. It was important that he remembered that.

But through it all, even Alex had to admit that he wouldn't have been able to live through those dark days without his unit. For supposedly unemotional soldiers, they'd been brilliant in making him feel happy again; allowing when he got angry and understanding when he was sad. They'd even began to trust him again, albeit with more caution than he would have liked.

Before it all they weren't scared of him; he was a small blonde kid that could handle himself in a fight. But they had seen him be ruthless and dangerous, and understandably that had altered their perception of him. He wasn't just little cub anymore; he was Alex Rider; spy, assassin … killer.

That, he'd realized with time, was all right too. Because the fact that they still trusted him, still wanted to be a part of his life and help him meant they really were his friends. K-unit had become men who'd he would happily put his life in the hands of, and for a spy that could be dangerous, could be stupid.

But it didn't feel that way. Essentially, they were now his family.

By law, at least, it was 25% true; MI6 had decided it best that Snake become his official guardian since he was still 14. So now he lived with them too, it all merging so it was like growing up surrounded by brothers, uncles, friends, whatever they were.

"Cub," Snake said, poking his head round the door with a smile on his face, his Scottish accent more prominent than ever since he did so much shouting. They'd been assigned part training themselves, part training the new recruits, so he did a lot of that now. Being Scottish somehow made him seem more intimidating than otherwise. "We're gonna go make the newbies swim 5 miles in the lake, and there's ice in it so it should be amusing. You coming?" He asked.

Alex flashed a smile. "Yeah," and followed the man out the door. The rest of the unit was just outside waiting for them, and the rain was clearing, so they walked down to the lake together, talking like old friends.

And for the first time ever, Alex realised that he was happy to be at an SAS training camp, which really was saying a lot.


End file.
